


The Whole Nine Yards

by bitemyshinyredtender



Category: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media Types
Genre: But both of them get better, College AU, Gordon is an ass, Henry is on a dance team because why not, Human AU, James is also an ass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-17 06:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15455244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitemyshinyredtender/pseuds/bitemyshinyredtender
Summary: Roommates Henry and Edward are in the home stretch of their college career. Senior year lies ahead, and the possibilities of the future are endless. However, they soon learn that endless possibilities aren't always a good thing...Some chapters will be E rated, I’ll let y’all know when things get kinda intense at the beginning of those chapters.





	1. Prologue

Henry flopped down on his bed, exhausted from unpacking. He was finally finished, after hours of going through box after box, sorting his stuff and finding a place for it all. He could hear Edward in the next room still shuffling through his own boxes. Edward may be organized, but he had yet to learn how to pack light. Henry pulled himself up and went to help his friend.

“No, don’t you dare,” Edward chastised at Henry when he saw him standing in his doorway, “You don’t need to help me. I got myself into this mess, I’ll get myself out of it.”

“Please let me help,” Henry pleaded, “The faster we finish, the faster we can check out where our classes are this semester.”

“Half of mine are online, you can go on without me.”

“Are you sure?” Henry watched as Edward struggled to rip the tape off of a large box, “I really can stay and help, if you want-”

Edward stabbed the box with scissors, “Go, I’ve got this.”

Without another word, Henry slinked out the door and headed down the stairs leading outside.

-

When Henry returned a few hours later, he had a pile of papers in his arms. He pushed the door shut with his foot and made his way to Edward’s room, “I’ve walked my schedule, and I walked yours as well. I factored in the time you’ll spend on online classes and I think your best bet would be to do your online work on the weekends, so you’re not as busy during the week. Our schedules line up pretty nicely so we could get lunch together Mondays and Wednesdays, and we can go to the gym together either Friday mornings before your 8:00 class or Tuesday nights after my 6:30 lab. I also-” Henry stopped when he walked in and saw Edward asleep, laying across a pile of empty boxes. Gently, Henry set down the papers and lifted Edward up onto his bed. He held in a laugh as Edward gave a gentle snore.

“Senior year is going to be amazing.”


	2. Heeeeeeere's James!

Henry was notoriously early for everything, especially classes. As he sat outside in the hallway waiting for the current class to be dismissed, he glanced at the clock for the fourth time in the hour he had been waiting. It was 10:42, only 3 minutes until the class is dismissed. Then he can rush in and pick his spot, with plenty of time to spare before his class started at 11:30.

When the doors opened and the students started rushing out, Henry quickly stood up, eager to get inside. He waited until he thought most of the students were gone, then made his way inside. Suddenly a stray student collided with him, causing both of them to drop their stuff.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry, I thought everyone was gone and I-” He looked up when he noticed the other student wasn’t picking their stuff up. The other student was watching him. Suddenly the other student sneered and rolled his eyes, “You freshmen need to watch where you’re going, some of us have important things to do and important places to be!”

Henry glared at him, “I’m not a freshman, and if you’ve got such important places to be, why don’t you start picking up your stuff?”

The student’s face was tinged with red as he grumbled, squatting down to collect his things.

Henry stood, sidestepping the student and making his way down to the most front and center seat. He heard a scoff, followed by a mumbled “Of course he sits there.” Henry turned around, “I suggest you get going, you must be far too important to waste your precious time on me.” Henry watched as the student rolled his eyes and left. Henry caught a glimpse of the back of his jacket before the door shut. There was a name printed on the back: ‘Gordon.’

-

After he was done with classes for the day, Henry excitedly headed to the performing arts building. Today was the first day the college seniors involved with drama, music, and dance got to mentor the local high school seniors who were hoping to major in performance art. Henry had participated in this program as a high school senior, and he couldn’t wait to participate as a mentor.

He made it to the auditorium early and waited as the high schoolers trickled in. The dean of the college, Mrs. Botti, explained the rules and expectations to the students, then began splitting them into groups, assigning the mentors to their respective groups. Henry was in the dance group, so he expected to be assigned to a student hoping to major in dance. However, Mrs. Botti approached him, presenting a boy with fire engine red hair and a confident air about him.

“This is James,” Mrs. Botti explained, “And he’s going to be majoring in musical theater. It’s a relatively new program, he’ll be one of the first students of that major. I think you will do well with him.”

James held out his hand, “Nice to meet you, Henry.”

Henry shyly returned the handshake, “Musical theater, how exciting!”

“Yeah, when you’re picked to play the lead role in the spring musical four years in a row, any college would bend over backwards to have you as a student.”

Henry saw Mrs. Botti roll her eyes as she walked away.

-

Henry and James talked over dinner. They asked about the other, what they like to do, where they live, what classes they take, and the more they talked the more they clicked. Both of them looked forward to getting closer to each other over the next two semesters.

Soon James had to go home, whining about it as they left the dining hall. Henry laughed, “Just be thankful you live rent-free, that’s going to change next year.”

James grumbled something under his breath and got into his car. He rolled down his window to say goodbye when Henry leaned down, “Hey, maybe soon you can meet my roommate, Edward. He’s very nice, maybe once you get to know him you can stay in our apartment for a weekend.”

James beamed, “Oh fuck yeah! Sound like a plan.” With one final wave, James sped off.

Henry happily walked back to his apartment, even more hopeful for the coming year.


	3. The Trouble With Crushes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward... is suffering

Soon the weekend came, and Henry had arranged to go bowling with James and Edward at the local bowling alley. They stood outside the front entrance waiting for the redhead. Edward was looking forward to meeting James, Henry spoke very fondly of him. “He’s like the little brother I never had,” Henry laughed, “I never thought I’d enjoy hanging out with an 18 year old this much.”

Edward smiled, “I remember when you were 18, you were such a sweetheart.”

“I was afraid to say the word ‘fuck’.”

“And look at you now.”

Just then, Henry spotted James getting out of his car. Bright red hair started making its way over to them. “I assume that’s him,” Edward laughed as James swaggered up to the two.

“James, this is my roommate,” Henry gestured toward Edward.

“Edward, right?” James purred, “A pleasure to meet you,”

Henry fought the urge to laugh at Edward’s blush.

-

The trio spent the next few hours talking and laughing as they bowled. Henry noticed James’ very obvious flirting, entertained by Edward’s reactions. Henry had never seen him so flustered in all the years he’s known him. Edward was his wise friend, always calm and collected, willing to help and share with everyone. Here, with James shamelessly hitting on him, Edward was completely out of his element.

Henry found it hilarious.

Even more so when James made a joke about Edward’s age by calling him ‘daddy’ with the most devious grin Henry had ever seen. Edward nearly fell over.

Soon James went home, and Edward and Henry made their way back to their apartment. No sooner had they shut the door did Edward bark out a stern “Don’t.”

“I didn’t say anything!” Henry sputtered, struggling not to laugh.

Edward groaned, “I’m going to bed, I need lots of it after tonight…”

“Goodnight… daddy.”

Edward slammed his door.

-

The next morning Henry woke up to someone pounding on his door. Still groggy, he shuffled across the room and yanked it open. Edward stood there, frantic. “How did he get my number?!”

Henry yawned, “He asked me for it last night, I figured it couldn’t hurt-”

Edward stared at Henry in disbelief, “And you just gave it to him?!”

“Yes…?”

“WHY?!”

“Edward please!” Henry shouted, “It’s 6 am. The neighbors are probably almost as pissed as I am. If you really don’t like him, just let him know. I don’t think he was being too serious last night, I’m sure he’d be fine.” Edward was silent. Henry continued, “...Edward?”

“He’s so young.”

Henry blinked, “Yes, he is. Very observant of you.”

“Too young. I can’t. I shouldn’t.”

“...Edward?”

Edward sighed, then leaned against the door frame. “I… I think I like him, Henry.”

Suddenly wide awake, Henry squealed and yanked Edward inside and shut the door. They both plopped down on the bed, Henry grabbing Edward by the shoulders, “Tell me everything. Was it his hair? His smile?” Henry gasped, “It was the ‘daddy’ wasn’t it?”

“Absolutely not!” Edward spat, “I just… I don’t know, he just made me feel so,” Edward gestured vaguely, “I’ve never had anyone give me that kind of attention before. It felt… it felt nice. Very nice.”

Henry was grinning from ear to ear, “Oh, this is perfect. You should ask him out.”

Edward choked, “What?!”

“You heard me, ask him out. On a date. Let him know you’re interested.”

“Henry, no!” Edward shouted, “He’s a child!”

“He’s 18…”

“He’s a child.”

Henry huffed, leaning back against the headboard, “That’s not as bad as you think it is. You’re only 26. That’s not even a ten year gap between you two-”

“I was already in school when he was born…” Edward said mournfully, “I’m a sick person.”

“No you’re not.”

“I’m a pedophile.”

“Again, he is 18, legally an adult.”

Edward sighed, “It just doesn’t feel right. I don’t want people to think I’m into really young guys. I can’t walk around snogging a minor-”

“Edward. 18. It’s not that hard to remember.”

“-People would think badly of both of us. I couldn’t put him through that.” He stood up, grabbing his phone and walking out. “I’ll have to let him know, maybe he can see reason.”

Henry watch as Edward sadly walked back to his room.


	4. Icebreaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry isn't happy with his new project partner... but quickly warms up to them. Soon, a new romance is blossoming for Henry in the most unlikely place.

Henry didn’t usually hate a class, but after only a week of art history, he could confidently say he hated the class. The professor was dull, the material was difficult, and the class was at 6:30, meaning it ran until almost 8. Not too late, but Henry hated having to go back home after dark. Whether he rode the bus or walked, he was miserable. He thought nothing could make the class any worse.

“Now, everybody find a partner...” the professor droned.

‘Damn it’ thought Henry.

Before he could even look around, someone plopped down in the seat next to him, startling him. He whipped around and saw the student he met on his first day of class, Gordon.

“Damn it!” said Henry.

“Well, hello to you too, partner,” Gordon scoffed.

“And you picked me because…?”

Gordon chuckled, “I figured someone who sits front and center has to be pretty smart. Why wouldn’t I pick you?”

“You son of a-”

“Easy, I’m not a dick who puts all the work onto the other person, I’ll do my share. I just didn’t want to end up with a moron for a partner.”

“Well,” Henry snapped, “Neither did I, but here you are.”

Gordon actually smiled, “Ouch. At least I can watch where I’m going so I don’t bump into people.”

Henry fumed, “At least I don’t need to put my name on my clothes just so I’ll remember it!”

Gordon laughed, leaning back in his chair, “That was good, you are smart. I think we’re going to get along just fine… what’s your name?”

“...Henry.”

“Henry,” Gordon repeated, as if he was trying it out, “I like it.”

Henry started to respond but was cut off by the professor, “Now that you’ve found your partners, you’ll have to agree on a topic. I want no less than 50 slides, one image per slide, and an in depth analysis of your topic. You’ll choose a subject that’s often found in ancient art.”

“Cats,” Gordon whispered to Henry. Henry shot him a confused look, so Gordon continued, “We should do cats, we’ll have a lot of options. Plus, who doesn’t love cats?”

Henry paused, then nodded in agreement. Maybe this project wouldn’t be so bad after all.

-

After class, Gordon stopped Henry in the hallway. “Give me your number.”

“Excuse me??”

“Give me your number, _please_.”

“Uh, why?”

Gordon rolled his eyes, “I kind of need to be able to contact you so we can do this stupid project. Do you not have a phone? I can get your email or-”

“I have a phone,” Henry snapped. He took out a pen and grabbed Gordon’s hand, scribbling his phone number onto his palm. “Try not to lose it, if you can manage that simple task,” and with that, Henry walked away.

-

A few days had passed when Henry finally received a text from Gordon. He knew it was from him because all it said was ‘I didn’t lose the number, suck it nerd.’

“Classy,” Henry groaned.

‘Congratulations. Can we meet up on Saturday at noon to get started?’

A couple minutes later:

‘Where?’

‘The library?’

‘Sounds good’

-

Soon Saturday rolled around, and Henry prepared to meet Gordon at the library. As he was heading out the door, Edward stopped him, “Hey Henry, want to come to the gym with me today? I’m heading there at 2.”

“Of course, I’ll meet you there!” Henry smiled as he headed out the door towards the library.

-

“I’ve been waiting for you forever, slowpoke.”

“We agreed noon! It’s only 11:30!” Henry huffed as he sat down at the table across from Gordon.

Gordon smirked, “Well, when you’ve got important places to go, you’re as early as me.”

Henry pressed his lips together in annoyance, “Let’s just get started.” Henry pulled out his laptop, “I’ve already got a couple of examples of famous painting and sculptures involving cats, I stuck with ones that had cats as a focus, not just in the background, I don’t want the professor to think we’re lazy. I also-”

“Hm, you really came prepared, didn’t you? Maybe I should start calling you boy scout.” Gordon chuckled.

Henry sighed, “Please don’t. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get started-”

“You’ve already done more than enough. Why don’t we get to know each other a little bit? It’ll make this project easier.”

Henry knew that this would most definitely not make this project easier, but he knew that Gordon wasn’t going to be taking him seriously today. “Fine,” Henry huffed, “We’ll get to know each other. What do you want to kn-”

“You’re from New Jersey aren’t you?”

Henry blinked, “Yes, I was born there and moved to sodor when I was 14.”

Gordon smirked- no, genuinely smiled, “You still have your accent. I think it’s nice.”

Henry felt his face flush, “Thanks, I have yet to meet anyone on sodor who also has a Jersey accent. And I doubt I ever will.”

Gordon laughed, “I wouldn’t count on it.”

Henry smiled, “So, where are you from?”

Gordon leaned back in his chair, “I’m from Yorkshire, but I came here when I was pretty young.”

“Why?”

Gordon’s expression became somber, “I was too young to remember, but my brother doesn’t like to talk about it. All I know is that we had other brothers and sisters back on the mainland that didn’t make it over with us.”

Henry stared at Gordon in disbelief, “Oh my, I’m so sorry.” A pause. “You said you came over with your brother?”

Gordon’s expression quickly switched back to annoyance, “Ugh, yes. Scot. You might have heard of him, people around here call him ‘The Flying Scotsman.’ He was on the track team, he came here with a full ride scholarship.”

Henry though for a moment, “Nope, never heard of him.”

Gordon looked surprised, “Really? Hm.” He thought for a moment, “Well, now I know I won’t have to suffer through you gushing about my brother constantly. Anyone who finds out he’s my brother won’t shut up about it.” Gordon paused, “And my cousin Spencer is almost as bad. He got a job conducting a private train for a duke and duchess and I’ve never heard the end of it ever since. At least Scot and I both agree on the fact that Spencer is a prick.”

Henry laughed. They continued talking for hours, completely forgetting about the project. Slowly, Henry began to warm up to Gordon, once he realized that he was more than the jerk Henry had seen when they first met.

Suddenly, Henry remembered he promised to meet Edward at the gym, “Shit!” He checked the time: it was almost 4:30. Henry quickly packed up his things, “I’m so sorry, I promised my roommate I would meet him at the gym at 4!”

Gordon gave Henry a guilty look, “I’m sorry, if we had focused on the project you wouldn’t be late.”

“Don’t be sorry, I should’ve been watching the time.” Henry finished packing his stuff and quickly walked out the door, giving Gordon a rushed goodbye on his way out.

-

It was 4:58 by the time Henry arrived at the gym. He changed into his gym clothes in the locker room then hurried off to find Edward. To his luck, Edward was jogging on a treadmill beside the locker rooms. Henry ran up to him, trying to catch his breath.

“Ah, there you are, you must’ve arrived here before I did. Have you been here long? You look exhausted.”

“No…” Henry huffed, “I was at… Library… Project…”

“Ah,” said Edward, still jogging, “You didn’t have to be here at 4 on the dot, you know.”

Henry stepped onto the treadmill beside Edward and set it on the lowest setting. “I already sprinted here, so I think I’ve gotten my workout done for the day…”

Edward laughed, “So, what’s the project you’re working on?”

“Just a powerpoint for art history.”

“Wow, sounds fun!”

Henry glared at Edward, “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but either way, fuck off.”

The two continued to talk for the duration of their workout. Henry wanted to ask Edward about James but he figured it best to just keep quiet about that. He knew he’d hear plenty from James next time he saw him anyway.

When they finished, they headed over to the water fountains to cool down. Henry plopped down on a bench as Edward took a long drink. Suddenly, Henry heard a ‘hey’ from behind him. He turned around and saw a very muscular man almost a foot taller than him.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry, am I in your wa-”

“Nah, I was just asking… are you on the dance team?”

Henry’s face flushed, “Yes, how do you-?”

“I knew it. I’ve seen you before. You’re really good.”

“Oh my, thank you!” Henry giggled, then extended his hand, “I’m Henry.”

The man took his hand, “The name’s Diesel 10,” he gave Henry’s hand a soft kiss, causing his face to flush even more.

“Interesting name,” Henry giggled.

Diesel 10 smiled, “Yeah, it’s a nickname. Most people call me D10. But you can call me whatever you like.” He added a wink for emphasis. “Hey, I’ve gotta get going. Can I get your number?”

Henry’s heart leapt, “O-of course!”

They exchanged numbers, gave a quick goodbye, and Diesel 10 left.

“What the fuck was that?!”

Henry jumped and turned around. Edward’s eyes were round in surprise. Henry laughed, “I don’t know…”

“That guy was massive, he could suplex me through the floor! And he kissed your hand!” Edward babbled on in disbelief as the two left the gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so this next chapter starts to take thing down a bit of a darker path. Nothing too graphic, just brief moments of "oh shit." Chapter 6 will be the first Explicit chapter, but you'll be able to skip it and still understand the story if you feel you need to.


	5. Never Knew Love Like This Before

Soon a month had flown by, and Henry and Diesel 10 had gone on three very successful dates. Henry was absolutely ecstatic, he had found someone who made him happier than he had ever felt before. Every text from Diesel 10 sent his heartbeat through the roof, and he felt his heart stop every time they saw each other. Henry frequently gushed about Diesel 10 to Edward, who was still grumpy about ‘how unfair life is, of course James isn’t an appropriate age, everything sucks and I’m going to die alone.’

One day, Henry was leaving class and saw Diesel 10 waiting for him. “D, you’re here!” Henry gasped.

Diesel 10 put his arm around Henry’s waist as they walked away, “Of course I am, I wanted to surprise my special boy.”

Henry’s heart leapt, “Oh, you’re too sweet!” Henry was interrupted when Diesel 10’s shoulder collided with someone coming the other direction. “Hey!” Diesel 10 shouted. They both turned around, and there stood Gordon.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Gordon’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

And awkward silence filled the air for a moment before Henry cleared his throat, “Gordon, this is Diesel 10. D, this is Gordon.”

Diesel 10 gave Gordon a devious smirk, “So, how do you two know each other?”

“We’re in-” Henry started, but was cut off by Gordon.

“We have art history together. What about you two?”

“We-” Henry was again interrupted, this time by Diesel 10.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

Henry tried not to look as shocked as he felt. They’d never even brought up becoming an official couple, this was very sudden! Not that Henry was complaining.

“Hmph,” Gordon huffed, “I see. Well, I apologize for running into you.” He turned to Henry, “I’ll see you in class.” And with that, Gordon stormed off.

“Bye Gordon!” Henry called after him.

Diesel 10 tightened his arm around Henry’s waist as the continued walking. Henry was silent, not knowing what to say after the encounter. Diesel 10 spoke, “You shouldn’t talk to him.”

Henry looked up at Diesel 10, “Why not?”

“He’s such an asshole,” Diesel 10 snarled, “Did you hear the way he spoke to me? He clearly doesn’t have respect for anyone, and won’t be a good friend to you. I suggest you find a new partner for that project.”

“I can’t, D, I’m sorry. And he’s really nice once you get to know him. I bumped into him on the first day of classes, he was a jerk to me then too.” Henry started to laugh, but stopped when he saw that Diesel 10 wasn’t laughing. Henry went silent and kept walking.

-

The next day in class, Gordon didn’t take his usual seat. Instead, he sat next to Henry, down in the front. Henry was confused, “Are we doing project work in class today? I didn’t see that on the schedule-”

“No, I just felt like sitting here today. That’s all.”

Henry hummed in understanding as class began.

The next class, Gordon sat next to Henry. And the next class. And the next class. Henry was beginning to notice a trend.

“Hey Gordon,” Henry asked, “What made you want to start sitting down in the front?”

Gordon seemed to think for a moment before saying “It’s cold up there.” Henry still looked confused, so Gordon continued, “There’s a vent above my usual seat and I was a bit chilly.”

“Well maybe you should go back to sitting there. Your face has been getting pretty red since you’ve started sitting down here. Maybe it’s too warm?” Henry asked innocently.

Gordon coughed, “No, I’m fine. I’ll sit down here.”

The professor dismissed the class, and Gordon hurried away.

Henry followed the herd of students as they funneled outside. He looked up and was happy to find Diesel 10 once again waiting for him. However, his happiness faded when he saw the angry expression on Diesel 10’s face. “What’s wrong, D?” Henry yelped as Diesel 10 grabbed his wrist, hard.

“Did he sit next to you again today?” Diesel 10 snapped.

Henry tried to pull his wrist from Diesel 10’s grasp, “Yes, he’s been sitting next to me for-”

“For weeks, I know. I’ve seen him.”

Henry was confused, how had Diesel 10 seen where Gordon sat in class? Suddenly Diesel 10’s face softened, and the hand on Henry’s wrist went to gently stroke his cheek. His next words were soft, so soft that Henry barely heard him, “I just don’t want him to bother you, sweetheart, that’s all.”

Henry wrapped his other hand around his sore wrist, “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“Any time, sugar,” Diesel 10 smiled, “You know how precious you are to me.” He put his arm around Henry’s waist and led him to head outside.

-

That weekend, Henry and Gordon had to meet up to go through pictures to put in their powerpoint. Henry already had 378 photos saved in a file that they could go through, and he figured so many photos could keep them busy enough to not have the chance to talk about anything other than their work.

No surprise to Henry, Gordon was waiting for him at their usual table. He quickly stood up when he saw Henry, “Good, you’re here. Let’s relocate to a different table.”

“Why?” Asked Henry, surprised at how tense Gordon was suddenly acting.

“It’s…” Gordon paused, “It’s distracting. Because it’s by the window. I think we should move somewhere in the center of the library. Fewer distractions.”

Henry thought for a moment, “I guess you’re right, it would benefit to be in a less distracting environment. We have a lot of pictures to look through today.”

The pair found a table at the center of the library, thankfully there were very few people around to distract them here.

“Okay,” said Henry, opening his laptop, “I’ve gathered a bunch of pictures we can choose from. I’ve got them organized by date, so we can pick a few from each time period so we have an even balance. I also-” Henry was cut off as his phone vibrated, “Sorry, let me just check this…” Henry passed the computer over to Gordon for him to start going through while Henry pulled his phone out.  
The phone displayed a message from Diesel 10:

‘Where r u?’

Henry replied:

‘I’m at the library. Everything okay?’

‘Y didnt u tell me u were going there?’

‘I didn’t think to, I’m sorry. I’m just working on a project, we’ll be done in an hour or so’

‘we?’

‘Gordon and I’

‘I’m omw ther now’

“Hey,” Henry jumped when Gordon spoke. Gordon was giving him a concerned look, “Is everything okay?”

Henry took a moment to respond, still confused by the exchange he just had with Diesel 10, “Yeah, everything’s fine. Just some, uh, miscommunication.” He was about to put his phone away, but figured he’d better keep it out in case Diesel 10 tried to contact him again. Henry focused on trying to get as much done as possible before Diesel 10 got there.

Thirty minutes passed, and still no sign of Diesel 10. Oh well, Henry thought, maybe he decided not to come after all. He and Gordon were making excellent progress, they were on track to be finished in the next ten minutes. Henry was grateful, since more people had started to come into this section of the library. The murmur of voices was steadily growing louder, but not loud enough to warrant a reprimanding from the librarian. Henry and Gordon sat side by side, scrolling through the photos on Henry’s laptop and eliminating ones they didn’t want.

“Henry,” Gordon whispered, not looking away from the screen, “Don’t look now, but your boyfriend is standing in the corner watching us, and he looks pissed.”

Henry looked at Gordon, “What?”

“He’s. Watching. Us.” Gordon hissed. “Why the hell is he watching us?”

Henry ignored Gordon’s instruction and looked up. Sure enough, there stood Diesel 10, who put on a smile as soon as Henry saw him. He sauntered over to their table and Gordon groaned.

“Well well, hard at work I see!” Diesel 10 sneered.

“Yeah, we’re nearly done! I think a couple more minutes and we’ll have all our pictures taken care of.” Henry looked at Diesel 10 cheerfully.

“Henry,” Diesel 10 cooed, “I made some plans for us tonight, at my apartment. Why don’t you call it a night and come with me? I’m sure Gordon would appreciate finishing early, wouldn’t you?”

Gordon looked from Diesel 10, to Henry, back to Diesel 10, “I… yes, I’d like to finish early.”

“Then it’s settled!” Diesel 10 exclaimed, “Come Henry, I took my car here. I can drive you to my place,” He looked over at Gordon, “Enjoy your free time, Gordon,” His name left his mouth like it was covered in poison. He led Henry away, leaving Gordon standing there, watching as they left.

-

One short car ride later, they arrived at Diesel 10’s apartment. “Woah,” Henry gasped, “These are the nicest apartments near campus, you’re so lucky!”

Diesel 10 chuckled, “No roommate either, lucky me!” He led Henry up the stairs and fumbled around for his keys, “It’ll be just us tonight, honey bun.” Once unlocked, Diesel 10 held the door open and gestured for Henry to go in first.

Henry gasped when he walked in. Diesel 10’s apartment was furnished like it came straight from Pinterest. The furniture looked untouched, the floor was spotless. Henry guessed they both had a thing for cleanliness. “Your home is beautif-”

Henry yelped as the door was slammed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next chapter is a hard E rating, just a heads up. I don't want to change the rating of the whole story but I may end up doing that anyway... If you want to read the trigger warnings for the chapter then continue reading below. If you don't need any trigger warnings and don't want to see any spoilers, stop reading now.
> 
> Chapter 6 contains explicit sexual content, scenes of intense sexual abuse, scenes of intense physical abuse, and non-consensual oral sex. Please be careful when reading. You can skip the chapter and still understand the plot, I kept the chapter short.


	6. Only Love Can Hurt Like This

Henry whipped around toward the door. The room had become dark, and he could barely make out Diesel 10’s form standing in the doorway. Suddenly the room was filled with light, and Henry had to rub his eyes to adjust. When he could finally see, Diesel 10 was still standing by the door, his hand on the light switch and his expression blank.

“Diesel,” Henry said weakly, “What’s wrong?”

Diesel 10’s face suddenly turned kind, “I was going to ask you that, what with Gordon always bothering you. He never seems to leave you alone, does he?” His voice was sickeningly sweet. He slowly walked over to the couch, motioning for Henry to sit. Henry did. Diesel 10 continued, “I care about you Henry, I want you to be happy. I know he doesn’t make you happy.”

“Diesel, he doesn’t bother me that mu-”

“I’m the one who makes you happy, right? I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to make you happy, sweetheart.” He lovingly reached out and stroked Henry’s cheek. Henry smiled and leaned into Diesel 10’s touch. Diesel 10 suddenly pulled Henry in and kissed him, startling Henry. Soon he relaxed and melted into the kiss, taking in Diesel 10’s smell and the feel of his hands on his neck and back.

In one quick motion, Henry was tipped backwards and Diesel 10 was on top of him. Henry gasped, but before he could say anything he was kissed again. He pressed his hands against Diesel 10’s chest, urging him to pull back, which he obliged. “Henry, baby,” Diesel 10 purred, “What’s the matter?”

“I-I’ve,” Henry panted, “I’ve never…”

Diesel 10 cocked his head, a grin spreading across his face, “You’re a virgin?”

Henry nodded.

“Well then sugar,” Diesel 10’s hands snaked their way up under Henry’s shirt, “You’re about to make me very happy…”

Before Henry knew it, Diesel 10 had stripped them both of all their clothes. Henry didn’t feel comfortable being naked in front of another person, but the way Diesel 10 looked at him made Henry eager to please him.

Suddenly Diesel 10 climbed off of Henry and stood, “On your knees,” He snapped.

Henry quickly obeyed, getting down on his knees in front of the couch. However, he was very nervous, having never done anything like this before. “Diesel,” Henry said meekly, “I don’t know… I don’t know how…”

Diesel 10 rolled his eyes, “You ever watched porn?”

Henry hesitated, “...yes.”

Diesel 10 laughed, “Just do that.” He pulled on Henry’s hair so he came closer to his erection. Henry gave a deep breath before taking the first inch or two into his mouth. He started gently sucking, and Diesel 10 gave a satisfied groan, holding Henry’s hair even tighter. Henry winced in pain but carried on.

Diesel 10 grew impatient, “All of it.” He barked, thrusting himself deeper into Henry’s mouth, who sputtered in surprise but managed to continue. Tears formed in the corners of Henry’s eyes and he suddenly felt embarrassed. Diesel 10 yanked his cock out of Henry’s mouth, then slapped Henry with his free hand.

Henry gasped in shock, “What the fuck?!”

“Don’t cry.” Diesel 10 snapped.

Henry held in a breath as he tried to suppress his tears. He brought a hand up to his stinging cheek, wincing in pain.

Diesel 10 grabbed Henry’s chin and pulled his face so they made eye contact. Diesel 10 growled, “Don’t cry, I know you’re strong. You won’t cry.”

Henry was scared and confused by Diesel 10’s behavior. His boyfriend had just slapped him, and was demanding he didn’t cry. Earlier Diesel 10 was telling Henry that he just wanted him to be happy. Which was it? Moments later, Henry had managed to stop his tears completely, to his own surprise and Diesel 10’s.

Diesel 10 smirked down at him, “Strong boy.”

Before Henry could say anything, Diesel 10 forced his cock back into Henry’s mouth, thrusting at a steady pace. Henry gagged as he felt it hit the back of his throat. Henry’s hands latched onto Diesel 10’s thighs and gripped tightly, keeping himself steady as his throat was pounded raw.

Henry was using all of his willpower not to cry. Each time his eyes got even a little glassy, Diesel 10 would pull back and slap him again. Henry didn’t even have time to tell him to stop before his mouth was full again.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Diesel 10’s thrusts became slower, but stronger. With a grunt, he pulled Henry’s head forward so he took his cock in all the way to the base. Diesel 10 came deep in Henry’s throat; he had no choice but to swallow all of it. Diesel 10 flopped back down on the couch, exhausted. He looked back at Henry, still kneeling on the floor, trying not to vomit. “Y’know,” Diesel 10’s voice dripped with post-sex bliss, “You really are a strong boy.”

Henry ignored him. He remained motionless where he was, his breathing ragged.

Diesel 10 continued, “I knew from the first time I saw you on stage that you’d be an amazing fuck. I mean, wow. Your ass is fuckin’ amazing. Your mouth isn’t bad either.”

Henry glance over towards the couch, still avoiding eye contact. Diesel 10 was still as naked as Henry was, lounging around with an air of pride and confidence. He motioned for Henry to come towards him. Henry hesitated.

“Henry,” Diesel 10 said sternly, “Is this how you’re going to repay me? By treating me like shit?”

Henry began to scoot over, choosing to sit on the floor instead of on the couch. Diesel 10 clicked his tongue is disapproval. “Henry,” he cooed, “Come sit with me, baby. Come on.”

Henry cautiously lifted himself onto the couch, still sitting as far away from Diesel 10 as he could. He cleared his throat, “That hurt, D. I didn’t like that.”

Diesel 10’s face fell, “You didn’t? I tried really hard. I just wanted to show you how strong you really are…”

“Well, I didn’t like it.”

“I’m sorry, cupcake,” Diesel 10 extended his arms, “Hug me? Please?” He pouted his lower lip childishly.

Henry thought for a moment, still very confused. He didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment. His instincts were telling him to run, but something else was telling him to stay. Whatever was telling him to stay won, and he moved into Diesel 10’s arms.


	7. Hit Me Baby One More Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter- Physical abuse and emotional abuse, as well as aftermath of a traumatic event. Stay safe everyone.

Henry left Diesel 10’s apartment that night a different person than when he went in. His thoughts were like TV static, he couldn’t focus on anything. He took twice as long to walk home as he normally would because he kept dissociating and forgetting what he was doing. Eventually, he made it to the apartment, feeling much better, albeit still a bit fuzzy. He quietly pushed the door open, hoping Edward wasn’t still up waiting for him to come back. A small part of Henry hoped he was, though. He just didn’t want to have to explain what happened to Edward.

To his relief, Edward wasn’t anywhere to be seen. The closed door to Edward’s bedroom indicated that he was asleep. Henry checked the clock: it was nearly 2 in the morning, of course Edward was asleep. Henry snuck to his room, closing his door fully before turning on the light.

Henry hurried over to the mirror to assess the damage. Sure enough, the cheek which still gave a dull throb of pain had a big red patch on it from being repeatedly struck. ‘Shit,’ Henry thought, ‘This definitely won’t get past Edward, he’s sure to ask what happened.’ Henry sighed in defeat and decided to head to bed.

The next morning, as Henry predicted, Edward went ballistic when he saw Henry’s face. “What the hell happened?!” Edward shouted.

“Oh, I uh,” Henry stuttered, “I tried this new lotion and I had a bad reaction to it.”

Edward came closer and inspected Henry’s face, “Henry, that’s really bad. Maybe you should go see a doctor-”

“No!” Henry interjected, “I don’t need to, I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse.” Henry shrugged when Edward gave him a stern look, “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

-

Throughout the day, Diesel 10 texted Henry many times. Early in the day these texts were long paragraphs of apologies, claiming Diesel 10’s behavior was due to stress. Henry ignored them. Later in the day the texts turned into desperate pleas for Henry to respond, followed by more desperate apologies. Once the afternoon came around, the texts stopped. Henry was relieved. He wasn’t angry with Diesel 10 anymore, but he still wasn’t in the mood to speak with him.

Henry was drained when he arrived to the auditorium to meet with James. Throwing his bag down, Henry laid down face first in the middle of the stage, enjoying the cold floor on his cheek. Namely, the one still tinged with red. He heard footsteps approaching and, thinking it was James, Henry said, “So tired… I say we just take today off, James. I’ll take you on a tour of campus instead if you want. Should I invite Edward, or-”

“Henry.”

The voice that spoke was definitely not James. Henry scrambled to get up, looking around frantically to find the source of the voice.

Diesel 10 emerged from behind one of the stage curtains, hands behind his back. Henry was glued to his spot, unsure whether he should leave or stay.

“Henry,” Diesel 10 said again, “I’m sorry for the other night. I thought I was making you happy, and I wasn’t. I want to make it up to you. You deserve to be as happy as you make me.” Diesel 10 brought his hands out from behind his back and presented Henry was a large bouquet of roses.

Henry sucked in a breath, unsure of what to say.

“Please,” Diesel 10 pleaded, “Please forgive me, Henry.”

Henry thought for a moment. Something inside him was begging him to walk away, but something else insisted he forgive Diesel 10. Henry slowly walked forward, taking the flowers. “These are beautiful,” he whispered.

Diesel 10 smirked, “Just like you.”

-

Class on Tuesday was more difficult than usual. It was the first time he’d have to face Gordon after what happened in the library. Henry anticipated that Gordon would be angry with Diesel 10 for cutting their work time short, now they had even more to do next weekend. The deadline was right around the corner, not a good time to get behind on work.

However, Gordon sat in his usual spot, eyes lighting up when Henry walked into the classroom. Seeing Gordon’s face calmed Henry, for reasons he couldn’t quite identify.

“Hello there!” Henry said cheerfully.

Gordon returned the greeting, before his smile faltered. He studied Henry’s face for a moment, “Are you okay, Henry?”

Henry paused, “Of course I am!” He took his usual seat beside Gordon as class started. Henry did his best to pretend he didn’t notice Gordon glancing his direction every few seconds.

-

Over the next few weeks, the cycle continued. Diesel 10 would treat Henry like a king one minute, then make him feel lower than dirt the next. But Henry didn’t worry about it, Diesel 10 always said he was a bit too sensitive. Henry knew he was just overreacting to the bad things.

He did worry, though, when the bruises became difficult to hide.

He was thankful he had backstage access in the performance art building, that’s where all of the effects makeup was kept. Henry had gotten quite good at makeup from all the years of wearing it on stage, so covering a few bruises was no problem.

A black eye was a different story.

Diesel 10 said it was an accident. Henry didn’t blame him, he knew it wasn’t his fault. If Henry had texted him an update on his location on time, Diesel 10 wouldn’t have gotten angry. Henry knew he was clumsy and forgetful, and he always apologized to Diesel 10 whenever he messed up again. Diesel 10 was very good at forgiving Henry, calming him down and making him feel better. He rarely asked for any favors in return. When he did, he made sure Henry enjoyed himself too.

Henry felt lucky to have such a patient boyfriend.

-

One day Henry’s art history class dismissed half an hour early, to the delight of every student. Henry realized that he had time to find Diesel 10’s class and wait for him for a change. Excited, Henry hurriedly gathered his belongings and dashed out the door. He didn’t notice Diesel 10 already waiting outside the classroom in his usual spot, hidden by the crowd of students.

Before Henry could get far, Gordon was rushing after him. “Henry, wait!” He shouted, “You left your laptop charger!”

Henry laughed as Gordon caught up to him, “You have no idea how many times I’ve done that.”

Gordon smirked, “I can take a guess.” He put the charger in Henry’s bag. “So, where are you headed?”

“I’m going to meet Diesel 10 at Dowager Hall, his class gets out in ten minutes.”

Gordon’s smile faded for a moment, “Why don’t I walk with you? I’m headed that way anyway.”

The pair happily chatted on their walk over, oblivious to the figure following them the whole way.

Soon they arrived at the right classroom, and Henry plopped down on the floor against the wall. “Thanks for walking me here, Gordon. But you should probably get out of here before Diesel 10 sees you.”

“You’re right,” Gordon stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets before sauntering off down the hall, “I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

Henry paused, “I’m not-”

Before Henry could finish, Diesel 10 appeared from around a corner and dragged him off by the wrists.

-

They eventually reached an empty classroom, and Diesel 10 threw Henry inside, slamming the door shut behind them. They were at the end of the hall, so any chances of someone hearing them was eliminated. But Henry was already too afraid to make any noise; he gripped the desk behind him to brace himself, willing his heartbeat to slow down from its breakneck speed.

Diesel 10 stormed up to Henry, who shifted the desk backwards in his attempt to lean away from him. “Damn it Henry!” the name was emphasized by his fist pounding the desk. Diesel 10 had backed Henry up completely against the desk. Even if Henry wanted to lean back any further, his spine wouldn’t allow it. Diesel 10 gripped Henry’s shirt collar, yanking him closer, “What the fuck were you doing with Gordon?! Answer me!” Diesel 10 raged when Henry didn’t respond immediately.

Henry was too terrified to speak. Nobody had ever been this angry at him before, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. “I… We were just walking-”

“Bullshit!” Diesel 10 slammed his fist down again, his other fist still holding Henry’s shirt with a firm grip. “I told you he was an ass, and you didn’t listen! Why would you still want to be around him?!”

“H-he’s not an ass…” Henry stuttered meekly.

Diesel 10 barked out a sarcastic laugh, “Oh, he’s not is he? Then how come he doesn’t ever want me around? What kind of friend is he if he doesn’t want me around?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not fucking stupid, Henry. I saw you two at the library. I saw him walk away before I showed up today. He obviously has a problem with me.” Diesel 10 snarled, “Some friend he is! I know exactly what he’s doing.” Diesel 10 stepped back, but Henry still didn’t move. “He’s trying to get to you. He wants you all to himself, so he’s sabotaging our relationship.”

“No he’s not!” Henry cried, “He wouldn’t do that, he’s not what you think he is!”

In a flash, Diesel 10 was back merely inches away from Henry, giving him a challenging stare, “You fucking idiot, don’t be stupid! He has a plan and he needs to be stopped.” Diesel 10 jabbed his finger into the center of Henry’s chest, “You’re never talking to him again, understand? I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

Henry stared silently at Diesel 10, unsure if what just happened, really happened.

Diesel 10 continued, “You heard me.”

Henry snapped back to his senses, “You… can’t be serious?”

“I’m dead serious.”

“You can’t tell me what to do!”

“Oh, I think I can,” Diesel 10’s eyes were wild as he shouted, “And you’ll do whatever I tell you to do. And I’m telling you to stay away from him.”

Henry was furious, “No! I’m not going to just blindly obey you!” Henry didn’t bother holding back tears now, “This is crap, and you know it! I’m not doing anything wrong, and you can’t treat me like I am!” He stormed off towards the door but was stopped by a hand harshly gripping his upper arm, yanking him down to the floor. Henry tried to stand up again, but a kick from behind made him land flat on his stomach, barely catching himself so his face didn’t hit the ground.

Diesel 10 pinned Henry down, giving him a harsh slap across the face. Henry yelped as Diesel 10 continued the assault, landing blows wherever he could. He was shouting something, but Henry was more focused on trying to protect himself. Diesel 10 struck Henry’s face, neck, arms, he even gripped Henry’s right wrist so tight that he left finger shaped bruises. Henry felt a sharp sting on his forehead right above his right eye, causing him to cry out in pain. Diesel 10 covered his mouth with one hand.

Henry didn’t realize Diesel 10 had stopped until he felt his breath on his neck as he whispered in Henry’s ear. “You tell anyone about this and I’ll make you wish you were never born,” Diesel 10 spat, before releasing his grip on Henry, who flopped down to the floor like a ragdoll.

Henry laid there and cried until the sunlight faded away and left him in the dark.


	8. Derailed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter- Mentions of blood, mentions of physical abuse, and mentions of childhood abuse. Stay safe y'all.

James snuck in through the doors of the auditorium. Usually being any more than half and hour early wasn’t his style, but today he had nothing better to do. He figured he might as well explore backstage a little before Henry arrived.

To James delight, to door that led backstage to the dressing rooms was open just a crack. He slowly pushed it open, taking in all of the old set pieces and the clothes rack by the door, used for quick-changes. Glitter dusted the floor, giving it an almost magical glow. Fake blood spotted the floor, too. Someone had probably forgotten to clean it up after a show. James hoped it was long dried, for the sake of his splendid new shoes…

Looking around, he spotted a light coming from under a door a couple feet away. Curious, he continued down the hall, stopping dead when he heard a sound from inside the room. Panicking, James was about to hurry away when he realized someone was crying. Torn between wanting help, and knowing the consequences of trespassing, he decided that the most important thing was being a friend to someone who he guessed could use one right about now.

Not wanting to startle whoever was inside, he backed up, then walked back over to the door with louder footsteps. The crying stopped, and the light was switched off. James huffed, “Look, I already know you’re in there. I just want to help.” No response. “...Hello?” James pressed an ear to the door to try to listen inside. Sure enough, there was very faint ragged breathing coming from inside. “Hey, I’m coming in okay?”

James turned the handle, slowly opening the door. “Jesus, it’s dark in here. Where’s the goddam light switch?” He felt along the wall and heard something that sounded like bottles clinking and being rearranged. At last, he felt the switch under his palm. He flicked it on, and it took him a moment to adjust.

James blinked, before realizing that someone was sitting at the end of a long row of mirrors. He covered his face with his hands, his elbows propped up on the counter in front of him. James soon realized that the blood trail led into this room, and it wasn’t fake.

Still adjusting to the bright lights, he carefully made his way over to comfort the stranger, “Hey, are you okay dude? Do you need me to call-” His words stopped dead when he recognized the stranger sitting in front of him. Sure enough, the stranger reluctantly looked up at him, his face barely recognizable under all of the bruising and the blood dripping from the huge gash in his forehead, but James still saw very familiar brown eyes. James suddenly felt sick.

“Henry?”

-

Edward grumbled as he went to open the door someone had the gall to pound on the door instead of knocking like a normal, civilized human being, “All right, you’d better have a damn good reason to be-” Edward nearly screamed when he saw Henry, and again when he saw James.

The redhead rushed the barely conscious Henry inside, brushing past Edward. “I’ll tell you how I found your address later,’ James said quickly, “Henry was backstage trying to cover all this with makeup. I can’t tell what’s been covered, he did a damn good job.”

Edward helped lead Henry to the bathroom, then grabbed a washcloth from a shelf. He ran it under some warm water and began wiping the blood off of Henry’s face as James gently lowered him so he sat with his back against the bathroom wall. “Henry,” Edward said gently, “What happened? Who did this to you?”

Henry didn’t respond, he just weakly shook his head.

“You don’t know who did this to you?”

Again, Henry shook his head.

Edward looked over to James, “We need to go to the police-”

“No,” Henry whispered, “I don’t… I don’t want to talk about it…”

Edward and James exchanged worried looks. Edward spoke, “You don’t have to talk about it then. Do you think you need to go to the hospital?”

“No…” Henry whined.

“I don’t think so either. You have a bit of a gash on your forehead, but it doesn’t look too bad. It’s just bleeding a lot. And your cheeks and neck are just covered in bruises… but I think you’ll be okay if you just take it easy for a while. By the time the weekend is over you should feel well enough to go to class. I’ll help you cover some of the bruises if you need me to.” Edward touched Henry’s arms in affection, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up some more then get you to bed early tonight.”

Henry gave Edward a weak smile as he continued wiping the dried blood off of Henry’s face.

-

Edward and James took care of getting Henry clean and putting him to bed. James watched Edward the whole time, completely smitten with his kindness. James tried to focus on Henry, but his attention always came back to Edward.

Once they were finished, they shut Henry’s door and let him sleep. Edward let out a huff and walked to the living room, collapsing onto the couch, his arm draped over his eyes. James stood awkwardly, before clearing his throat. “So, uh…”

“James, please don’t do that thing where you say dirty things to try and see how fast my face can turn into a tomato.”

James stifled a laugh, “I wasn’t going to. I was just going to see if you’re okay.” He sat down on the side of the couch Edward wasn’t sprawled out on. “So, are you okay?”

Edward didn’t answer. James opened his mouth to speak but was cut short by a soft sniffle. James saw a small tear run down Edward’s cheek from under his arm. James hesitated before speaking again, his voice barely a whisper “Edward?”

“I know it was Diesel 10.”

“Who?”

“Diesel 10,” Edward sniffled, “Henry’s been seeing him for about two months now. Henry thinks I never noticed the marks that he’s left. Of course I noticed.” Edward wiped his eyes and sat up, hugging his knees, “I asked him about it once. He had a bright red mark on his cheek. Anyone could tell that was a mark left by harsh physical contact. I knew. Henry told me it was an allergy, and you know…” Edward paused, more tears welling up in his eyes, “I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe he wasn’t going through what I thought he was. I didn’t question him, I played along with the allergy story. I played along with all of his stories; stress, losing balance, an accident with a tennis racket…” Edward gave a breathy laugh, before he went cold.

“Edward,” James whispered, “You can’t blame yourself.”

Edward looked as if he wanted to argue with James, but couldn’t find the right words, so he silently got up and left, heading down the hall to, James presumed, his bedroom, leaving James alone in the living room.

-

It took Edward a few moments, but soon after waking up did he remember the events of the previous night.

He sat up with a groan, preparing to head into the kitchen for the world’s biggest cup of coffee. Until he heard a noise. Edward scrambled to the door, flinging it open, only to find James loading their dishwasher, to his credit, as quietly as he knew how.

James looked up when he heard a door open, “Morning Edward! I hope you like eggs because I made you guys some killer omelettes.”

Edward blinked, “James, not that I don’t appreciate it, but what are you still doing here?”

James got quieter, “You looked so overwhelmed last night, I figured I’d stay and help out a bit. I know Henry’s going to need some support today and I didn’t want you to be on your own.” He shoved a fork into Edward’s hand, “Here. Eat the omelette.”

Edward smiled, “James, that’s very sweet. But don’t you have to get back home soon?”

“Nah, don’t worry about me.”

“You’d better not be skipping class…”

“What if I am? Are you gonna ground me, _daddy_?”

“Stop that!”

“You two never stop, do you?”

James and Edward jumped and turned around. Henry stood at the kitchen entrance, fully dressed, face and body completely clear of any injuries, sans the large bandage on his forehead. Edward’s mouth gaped as he struggled to find something to say.

James snorted, “Gotta keep him on his toes.”

Edward looked back and forth between the two. It was as if last night never happened. If it weren’t for Henry’s bandaged forehead and his earlier conversation with James, Edward would think it had all been a dream.

Henry laughed as he made himself a mug of coffee, “I have to get going soon, I have an extra credit lecture I need to attend that starts in almost an hour,” Henry screwed the lid onto the mug and rushed to the door, “I’ll catch you guys later!”

James and Edward said goodbye to Henry, then Edward looked at James with wide eyes, “What the hell was that?!”

“What?” James asked innocently.

“That!” Edward gestured vaguely from James to the spot where Henry just stood, “That whole ‘let’s just pretend everything is fine’ thing that just happened?!”

“Look, clearly Henry is feeling a lot better today. If he wants to forget about last night, why should I stop him?”

“That can’t be healthy, James…”

James hoisted himself up to sit in the counter, “Do you think making him talk about last night and relive those events would’ve gone over well? What did you expect him to do, wallow in sorrow and self-pity for the rest of his life?”

“No, but I-”

“No buts,” James held up a hand to silence Edward, “I know I haven’t known Henry as long as you have, but I know what it’s like to want to forget something and move on quicker than everyone wants you to. Some people heal that way.” James paused, looking thoughtful and looking away from Edward to stare straight ahead, “Even if it means the person who hurt you gets away with it, it’s easier than feeling miserable longer than you need to.”

Edward was silent, realizing that James had more experience than Edward gave him credit for, “I’m sorry you had to go through something like that,” Edward said softly, “But you know, it’s okay to talk about those things and feel miserable every once in a while. It can help a lot.” Edward chuckled, “You’re right, I’ve known Henry far longer than you have. We’ve both had our fair share of bad experiences in life, and Henry was always the one to cry it out to me whenever something happened. I’ve never seen him bounce back so quickly from something this… awful.”

James returned his gaze to Edward, eyes glassy, “It’s more common than you think.”

Edward gave James a small smile, “I can tell.”

-

When Henry returned a few hours later, James was gone. Edward sat in the living room, reading. Henry found it odd he decided to read on the couch and not in his room, maybe Edward was waiting for him. Henry sighed. He hoped Edward wouldn’t interrogate him with questions about last night. It was hard enough keeping up a happy appearance all day when he didn’t even have to speak to anybody.

Edward looked up as Henry was closing the door, “Welcome back!” He said happily.

“Hi,” Henry smiled as he sat down beside Edward, “I was actually hoping we could talk about something.”

Edward blinked before quickly shutting his book and sitting up. Henry knew Edward thought they were going to talk about last night. He knew his next words we going to catch Edward off guard, and he only felt slightly guilty that he relished the thought.

“What’s happened with you and James?”

Edward _was_ caught off guard, “W-what?”

Henry spoke softly, “I know something happened between you two. James suddenly stopped asking me about you, he hasn’t brought up your name in weeks. And you don’t talk about him either. I know you said you were going to turn him down, but I didn’t realize it would cause such a rift between you two. Did he not take it well?”

Edward gave a nervous laugh, “I don’t know, I guess things just-”

Henry rolled his eyes, “Cut the crap Edward, do you realize I see James almost every day? I know something happened. I just want to know if James is just overreacting to something, or if my roommate is a piece of shit.”

Edward gave Henry a playful glare, “Very funny.” He cleared his throat, “Well, I did turn him down. Multiple times. He doesn’t really take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“No he does not,” Henry said matter-of-factly, “Go on.”

“So after a while I made him an offer. I told him we could go on one date, something casual, where we could talk things through, and afterwards we were to be strictly friends, and he was to create a Tinder account and leave me alone.” Henry struggled to hold in his laughter as Edward continued, “So we went on a date, feeding the ducks at the campus duck pond. We talked for a while, and he was surprisingly fun to talk to when he cut back on the cheesy flirting. We must’ve talked for hours, telling each other about our childhoods, our family… that’s when things got strange.

“I noticed he didn’t have much to say about his extended family, and I tried not to push him, but I tried to get him to trust that he could tell me anything. Eventually he told me about a… certain memory he had about someone in his family.” Edward didn’t dare go into detail for the sake of James’ privacy, he was starting to regret bringing it up, “I listened to him, and when he finished the story, I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so I… oh god…” Edward groaned, “I started telling him about how we were learning in my psychology class… about how childhood abuse can manifest itself in adulthood in traits such as… attraction to older men…” Edward winced as he said it.

“Oh god, Edward you didn’t…”

“I did. I feel terrible. He didn’t say anything to me after that beyond one word answers to questions. I knew I fucked up… I tried to apologize when I saw how hurt he was, but eventually he just walked away.”

Henry stared at Edward, dumbfounded by his roommates uncharacteristic stupidity, “And you guys haven’t spoken until last night?”

Edward was surprised when Henry brought up the previous night, “Yes…”

“So,” Henry mused, “Do you think things are going to be okay between you two?”

Edward forced a laugh and shook his head, “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like we were going to be close for very long anyway. I’m graduating this year, I might be moving away, I don’t know what my life is going to be like in a couple months. Friends or not, uncertainty about my future wasn’t doing us any favors.”

Henry was silent for a moment, then he wrapped his arms around Edward, comforting him. Edward relaxed and returned the hug, comforting Henry as well. The pair stayed like that for a while before Henry’s phone rang, causing them both to jump.

Henry was filled with panic before seeing that the call was from Gordon. “Hello?” He answered. Edward tried to hear what Gordon was saying, but he couldn’t quite make it out.

“Yeah, he’s right here, I’ll ask him.” He turned to Edward, “There’s a party tonight that Gordon has invited us to, are you feeling up to it?”

Edward raised an eyebrow, “Are you?”

Henry’s face fell for a moment, but not even a moment later perked up again. “We’ll be there,” he answered to both Gordon and Edward.


	9. Your Past Always Catches Up To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You never know what will happen at a college party...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: use of weapons, attempted kidnapping/physical assault, and mentions of past abuse. Stay safe everyone.

The party house was hard to miss, music could be heard from almost a block away, and the lights lit up the whole street. Henry and Edward both felt out of place surrounded by drunk athletes. On the front lawn, a group of cheerleaders were cheering on a basketball player chugging an entire can of beer. She finished in seconds, crushing the can on her forehead. The cheerleaders went nuts. Henry and Edward shivered from the cold air, and intimidation.

“Hm,” Edward mused, visibly uncomfortable, “Wrong house?”

“Nah, this is definitely the right house. Gordon did say it was an athletics party.”

“Were we supposed to dress up to match the theme, or…?”

Henry laughed, “No, it just means that a lot of student athletes will be here.”

They both walked in through the wide open front door, wading their way through the crowded living room. Henry was scanning the crowd for Gordon, who said he’d be waiting by the front door for them. Sure enough, he was standing against the wall a couple feet away, chatting with someone who was very tall and built like a greek statue. Definitely another athlete.

Gordon spotted them and waved them over, Henry dragging Edward through the crowd by the arm. “Glad to see you guys could make it,” Gordon said, barely audible due to the loud music.

The tall man next to Gordon turned to face them, “Why hello, you must be Gordon’s friend, Henry. A pleasure to meet you.” The man shook each of their hands, “The name’s Scot.”

Henry’s face lit up, “Oh, you’re Gordon’s brother!”

Scot laughed, “So my reputation hasn’t faded a bit since I’ve left. Indeed, Gordon is my little brother.” He ignored Gordon’s annoyed snort.

“Gordon told me about you.”

“He did?” Scot grinned, giving Gordon a playful punch, “Gordon’s told me a lot about you, too.”

Gordon choked on whatever was in his solo cup.

Henry laughed, “Good things, I hope.”

Scot gave Gordon a knowing look, “Oh yes, very good things.”

Edward shifted around awkwardly, scanning the room curiously. His jaw nearly fell to the floor when he saw a familiar redhead dancing on a coffee table in the middle of the room. “Henry!” Edward hissed, smacking Henry’s arm to get his attention.

“What?” Henry asked, before he saw what Edward was panicking about. “James!” Henry shouted. The two wormed through the crowd over to where James was currently attempting to twerk. He looked up when he heard his name, “Hey guys!”

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” Henry shouted.

Edward tried pulling James off the table, “You could get in serious trouble!”

“Pffft, relax, I’ve been coming to college parties since the eleventh grade. I don’t drink, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Henry and Edward exchanged glances, “But…” Henry paused, “You were twerking. On a coffee table. What sober person does that?”

“Me, bitch!” James shouted before joining in on a conga line that was horribly off beat.

Henry and Edward walked back over to Gordon and Scot, who both looked like they were trying to contain their laughter but failing miserably. “Hey, what happened to you?” Gordon asked, “Looks like something nasty.” He gestured towards Henry’s forehead.

Henry’s face went pale for a moment, scrambling to think of an explanation. “I-I uh, it’s-”

Edward jumped in to Henry’s rescue, “Gym accident. I didn’t realize he was behind me and elbowed him in the face.”

Henry gave Edward a grateful look, “Yes, it’s just a bruise. A bandage looks much better than a big purple spot.” He laughed nervously.

Gordon looked doubtful, sipping his drink to avoid having to speak.

Sensing tension, Edward stepped in again, “So, what’s there to do around here besides get wasted and dance?”

“Well,” Scot answered, “Upstairs there’s beer pong, water pong, and my personal favorite, strip-twister.”

Edward didn’t need to ask what that last one was. “I think I’ll stick to water pong, thanks.” He turned to Henry, “Are you coming with?”

Henry shook his head, “No thanks, I think I’ll stay down here. Maybe I can catch James again and knock some sense into him.”

“Suit yourself,” Edward shouted back before heading upstairs.

“So,” Gordon said, drawing Henry’s attention back, “Where’s your boyfriend? I can’t believe he let you come here alone.”

Henry didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t want to talk about that had happened between him and Diesel 10, but he was tired of lying. “He doesn’t know I’m here.” Not a lie.

Gordon smirked, “Rebellious, I like it.”

Henry forced a laugh, but he was still worried. Something felt off, and he was scared about what would happen next time he encountered Diesel 10. His thoughts raced between how he would have to change his routes to class, leave class through different doors, be extra watchful that he wasn’t being followed home… “I’ll be right back,” he told Gordon.

Henry searched frantically for the bathroom, his guts were in knots and he felt like he was going to be sick. He searched upstairs, and finally found one at the end of the hall. He was relieved to see that the door was open and the bathroom was unoccupied. He slammed the door shut and leaned back against it, willing his stomach to settle.

Nothing Henry tried seemed to calm him down. Counting as high as he could, thinking of friends and family, reciting the alphabet backwards… Nothing. His mind always wandered back to Diesel 10, everything that had happened and everything Henry was afraid would happen. Henry was suddenly filled with panic, he needed to get out of there. He needed to go home to his apartment. Here wasn’t safe. Home was safe.

He flung open the bathroom door and hurried down the hall, swerving around the drunk partiers crowding the hallway and staircase. Once through the front door, Henry continued in the direction of his apartment, walking quickly. He made it around the corner before he thought to contact someone.

Henry began to pull out his phone to text Edward and Gordon to let them know he had left when a figure grabbed him from behind, wrapping around Henry so he couldn’t move his arms. Henry shrieked when he could tell that it wasn’t someone just playing a trick on him; whoever this was was trying to wrestle him away from the sidewalk and into the backyard of what looked to be an abandoned house. Henry struggled to free himself from the stranger’s grasp, screaming for help in hopes that someone at the party standing outside could hear him.

Suddenly, Henry remembered something he had been taught as a child. If he quickly jerked his head backwards, he could injure whoever was holding him in the face. Henry planted his feet firmly on the ground to keep his balance, then swung his head backwards into his attacker’s face. When the grip on Henry loosened, he wiggled his way out and, once he was completely free, sprinted back around the corner back to the party.

It seemed nobody had heard him screaming, but Henry wasn’t expecting anyone to with the music blaring. He pushed his way through the people gathered outside and ran through the front door, frantically searching for a familiar face. He saw Gordon and Scot standing in the kitchen doorway, and Henry maneuvered through the crowd towards them, calling out Gordon’s name.

Gordon turned to face Henry and his face fell when he saw how panicked Henry was. “Hey, what’s going on? What happened?” Gordon asked, worried.

Henry clung to Gordon for dear life, “Somebody- I just, I was outside and- They grabbed me-”

Gordon’s face went stern, “Show me who did it. I know the person throwing the party, I’ll get them kicked out.”

At this point, Scot had turned his attention to the two. “Everything okay?”

“Someone made a move on Henry,” Gordon grumbled.

Henry shook his head, “No, no you don’t understand, they had me-”

Suddenly Gordon’s face paled. Diesel 10 had stormed in and was making a beeline toward Henry.

Henry turned around and cried out in fear. Gordon held Henry tight to his chest protectively, and Scot quickly picked up that the man stalking toward them was trouble. Scot stood in front of Henry and Gordon, prepared to square up with this man. “You need to turn around and leave,” Scot said sternly. “One step closer and you’re done.”

A few people around them noticed the commotion and turned to watch.

Diesel 10 laughed, a dangerous look in his eyes. “Get out of my way, he’s coming with me. He’s not supposed to be here.”

“I’m going to call the police if you don’t leave right now, and I don’t think you want that.”

A few people were now recording the altercation on their phones.

Diesel 10 grew more furious with each passing moment. Scot didn’t back down. Gordon continued to hold Henry close, stroking his hair comfortingly. Henry buried his face into Gordon’s shoulder.

“Listen,” Diesel 10 hissed, “Just let me take my boyfriend home and there won’t be any trouble.”

Scot shook his head, “No deal, leave. Now.”

Edward had rushed downstairs when he noticed the house had gotten much quieter, and froze in terror when he saw Diesel 10 confronting Scot. Thinking fast, Edward pulled out his phone and started to dial the police when he was suddenly yanked back upstairs and pulled into a dark bedroom.

Edward was prepared to scream until the lights were turned on and he saw James was the one that had pulled him inside. “James, what the hell?! We need to call the-”

“He has a gun.” James’ voice shook, “I saw him when he walked in. A few others saw it too and they booked it out of here. I don’t think anyone else here knows.”

“Well then we definitely need to call the police-!”

“Listen Edward,” James gripped Edward’s shoulders tightly, “Call me crazy, but I don’t think we should do that. This guy could go nuts and start shooting if he sees that the police are here.”

“Then what the fuck are we going to do?!”

James’ voice was low, “We need to get as many people out of here as we can without causing a scene. We don’t want everyone to panic.”

Edward thought for a moment, “Okay, I think I’m ready to call you crazy.”

James huffed, “Look, it’s worth a try, right? We could be saving people’s lives.” He paused, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“I suppose so…” Edward hesitated, “How are we going to tell people?”

“I think we need let just a few people know what’s going on, then tell them leave slowly and tell as many people as they can on their way out. If we make it clear to stay calm everything should be fine. People will slowly trickle out, nobody will notice, nobody will panic.”

The two nodded in agreement and headed outside to spread the word.

Downstairs, Diesel 10 and Scot were still at a standoff, with Diesel 10 trying to get closer to Henry. Scot held his ground, however, putting himself between them. Most of the people at the party were still unaware of what was going down.

Gordon was contemplating whether or not he should try to sneak Henry out while Scot was distracting Diesel 10. Gordon leaned down and whispered to Henry, “We need to start backing away slowly, okay? I’m going to sneak you out the kitchen door.” Gordon felt Henry nod, and he took a small step back.

Diesel 10 was quick, however, and saw the movement. “Don’t you fucking dare,” He growled at Gordon, who froze instantly. Henry’s head whipped up and looked at Diesel 10 nervously.

Diesel 10 put on a forced smile, “Henry, sweetie, come on. Let’s go.”

Gordon fumed, “He’s not going with you! Get out!”

Henry looked up at Gordon, amazed that he was protecting him so fiercely. Henry felt his chest flutter.

“Fine, if that’s how it’s going to be…” Diesel 10 reached around his back and pulled out a pistol. The people around them watching all screamed and started to run away. “NOBODY MOVE!” Diesel 10 boomed, “Anyone else move a muscle and I start shooting, I don’t care who I hit!”

“Why are you doing this?” Henry said meekly.

Diesel 10 shot him a fierce look.

Henry continued, shaking, his voice barely above a whisper, “Why are you here? What do you want?”

“Because somebody doesn’t know how to fucking listen to what they’re told! You think you can get away with acting like a little tramp behind my back! Flirting around with him,” Diesel 10 spat the word ‘him’ as he motioned to Gordon, “and after everything I’ve done for you. I’ve done nothing but make you happy-”

“Shut up!” Henry suddenly shouted, startling Gordon. “You liar! You haven’t done anything to make me happy! You only care about yourself, you never gave a shit about making me happy! All you’ve done is use me and beat me and you know what? I let you do it because you made me believe I deserved it! Well you know what?!” Henry paused to take a deep, ragged breath, “I know what I deserve, and it’s better than you! Get out!”

Everything was in slow motion; Diesel 10 stood for a moment, processing what Henry had just said to him. Gordon tried to take in everything Henry had just admitted Diesel 10 had done to him. Scot and a few other bystanders slowly began to move in towards Diesel 10, prepared to restrain him. Diesel 10 lifted his arm, and pointed the gun at Henry. Gordon twisted around to shield Henry. Scot reached out to grab the arm holding the gun. Time stood still.

Suddenly, it was as if time sped up again as Diesel 10 was tackled down from behind by two police officers. A few more officers surrounded him, guns drawn and aimed. People started to rush out as soon as they realized they were free to run. Gordon took the opportunity to usher Henry outside as well, Scot trailing close behind.

The next hour went by in a blur; police questioned witnesses, Diesel 10 was arrested, and everyone was sent home. The officers handed out business cards for the campus counselor as people left. Edward and James met up with Henry, Gordon and Scot outside. Nobody said a word, until Scot broke the silence, “I think we’d all better head home.” Everyone silently nodded in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was super weird and crazy but I was getting beat up by writer's block and I just thought "fuck it let's give him a gun." Thank you for bearing with me through that absolute dumpster fire of a plot.


	10. The Dust Settles…?

A few days had passed and soon things were going back to normal. The fall semester was almost over, the first snow had fallen, and students were starting to feel lazy in the last week or two of classes. Henry was no exception. Even after all of the drama with Diesel 10 had settled, Henry was having trouble concentrating on his classes. He and Gordon still met on the weekends to finish up the last few details of their project, but things between them were different.

Henry couldn’t stop thinking about how Gordon had held him that night, and how he had been prepared to shield Henry from a bullet. Henry’s heart stopped every time he remembered it. He started thinking about how Diesel 10 never would have done something so selfless. Henry realized that he was beginning to feel very different about Gordon. Henry needed to thank Gordon properly, but he didn’t know if bringing up the events of that night was a good idea. Plus, they were always busy working, so he rarely had the chance. He supposed he could text Gordon, but it didn’t feel right to discuss something so personal over the phone.

On the last day of class, they made their presentation. The professor was impressed, congratulating the two on a job well done. Henry and Gordon exchanged proud glances and thanked the professor. Both returned to their seats, fist-bumping in success.

When class was over, Henry almost didn’t want to leave. He knew the chances of having another class with Gordon were very slim, but he was hopeful they could see each other outside of class. He and Gordon left together, walking slowly to stretch the time they had together before Gordon had to catch the bus home. Henry figured now was as good a time as ever.

“By the way,” Henry asked, “I never really got to thank you for what you did at the party.”

Gordon’s face turned red, “Oh, uh, no problem.”

“So why’d you do it?”

Gordon looked puzzled, “Huh?”

Henry stopped walking to look Gordon in the eyes, “Why did you so willingly put yourself in harms way for me? I appreciate it, but I would’ve never forgiven myself if something had happened to you.”

“I, uh…” Gordon muttered, “I just didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

Henry was silent for a moment, “Well, thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

The two continued walking.

Now it was Gordon’s turn to ask the personal questions, “I know this might be a touchy subject, but why did you stay with him for so long? You must’ve been miserable.”

Henry thought for a moment. He knew why he had stayed, but he knew that his logic was very flawed. “He knew what to say to keep me around. Every time he’d do something bad to me, he made a big deal about apologizing and making me feel like I overreacted. He’d tell me how special I was to him, and how much he loved me. I’ve never really had a relationship that serious before.” Henry paused, “I thought I’d never find anyone else who could make me feel special.”

Gordon was silent, before clearing his throat, “You’ll find someone who treats you better.”

Henry laughed, “I hope so. The bar has never been lower.”

Gordon chuckled, glancing at Henry. Gordon couldn’t help but notice the way Henry’s face lit up when he laughed. He felt a blush creep its way up to his face.

-

Winter break came and went, every went home to visit friends and family. Henry and James stayed in touch all of break, excited to continue the next semester. James reached out to Edward as well, hoping to patch things up between them. Edward was relieved, thankful that James seemed to forgive him for his blunder.

Henry and Gordon also kept in touch, sometimes talking long into the night.

However, Henry also kept busy dealing with the events of the party. Edward had pushed him to file a no-contact order against Diesel 10 so that when he was eventually released, he couldn’t have any sort of contact with Henry, even through third parties. Henry agreed, and the process of obtaining the no-contact order took nearly the whole month and a half of break. But he was glad once it was all over, he felt safer knowing Diesel 10 would never be in his life again.

-

Soon classes were starting again, and campus was filled with the bustle of students. Henry and Edward settled into their apartment, happily chatting and comparing their schedules. To their excitement, they had been put in the same sociology class. With a few days until classes started, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

-

“Knock knock, heeere’s James,” James said as he waltzed into the apartment.

Edward and Henry both looked up when he entered, “Hi, what brings you here?” Edward asked.

A grin spread across James’ face, “It just so happens that I have a birthday coming up. Next Friday, actually,” James sauntered over to the couch, leaning on the armrest and getting close to Edward, “19 years the world has been blessed with my presence.” He teased.

Henry snorted, Edward looked at James suspiciously, “So…?”

“So,” James continued, “I’m thinking of what I should do to celebrate.”

Henry could sense that James was hoping to talk to Edward alone. Being as nonchalant as possible, Henry pulled out his phone, “Oh my, it seems Gordon has messaged me, I should see what he wants.” Henry got up and slinked away to his room.

Edward sweat nervously now that he was alone with James, “So, uh, what were you thinking of doing?”

James fought with every nerve in his body to resist the temptation to say ‘you.’ Instead, he replied, “Oh, I don’t know, I was hoping we could go somewhere. Just the two of us. Maybe see a movie, have dinner, see what there is to do downtown…”

“So, just the two of us, huh?”

James smirked confidently, “Yep.”

Edward made a ‘hm’ sound while he thought. “I suppose dinner and a movie wouldn’t be bad. It is your birthday after all,” Edward became serious, “but only because it’s your birthday. Don’t expect this to become a regular thing.”

James rolled his eyes, “Fine,” he droned.

Henry listened in on their conversation through his door, giggling the whole time.

-

Edward and Henry walked to their sociology class together, excited to be in the same class. “You better help me with homework,” Henry teased, nudging Edward in the side. Edward groaned sarcastically. “I guess I do owe you for promising to come with me tonight.”

Henry snickered, “So attending the poetry slam is extra credit for…”

“It’s for my creative writing class and if I go to this tonight I won’t have to go to a play next week!” Edward groaned.

They walked in the door and suddenly Henry’s face lit up, “Gordon!” He exclaimed.

Sure enough, Gordon was seated in the middle of the room. He looked up when he heard Henry and a smile spread across his face, “Looks like I just can’t get away from you.”

Henry laughed as he plopped down in the seat beside Gordon. Edward sat in the seat beside Henry.

Henry and Gordon talked and caught up the whole time they were waiting for class to start, leaving Edward to sit silently, watching the other students as they filed in. Edward sighed, propping his head up with his hand.

Class was uneventful, the syllabus was handed out and students were dismissed an hour early. Edward quickly gathered his things, but when he looked up Henry and Gordon were already gone. He spotted them among the crowd of students leaving. Edward frowned, then attempted to squeeze his way through the crowd to get to them. However, he quickly lost track of them. He finally made it through the classroom door and scanned the hallway, but they had vanished. Edward walked to his next class alone.

Henry wasn’t there when Edward got home from the poetry slam that evening, and he hadn’t heard from him for the rest of the day. He suspected that Henry was still out with Gordon. Edward scoffed. He plopped down on the couch and started to read, trying to take his mind off of Henry.

-

Henry laughed when Gordon’s ball went in the gutter. Gordon swore loudly, turning around and walking back in defeat, grumbling something about his finger getting stuck. Henry kept giggling as he got up to take his turn, “I thought you said you were good at bowling?”

“I am,” huffed Gordon, “...usually.”

Henry’s strike didn’t make Gordon feel any better. Gordon pouted. Henry laughed again, sitting back down next to him. He poked Gordon on the cheek, “Oh come on, don’t be a sourpuss. I’ll let you win the next game.”

Gordon sputtered, “Let me win?! I don’t think so!”

It was almost midnight by the time they decided to call it a night. Henry figured Edward was asleep by now, so he took care to make sure to come in as quietly as possible. He jumped when he saw that Edward was still very much awake and sitting on the couch.

Edward looked up at Henry for a brief second before returning his gaze to his book. He didn’t say a word.

“What are you still doing up?” Henry asked, “You do realize it’s after midnight right?”

Edward remained silent, flipping to the next page in an exaggerated way to give Henry the hint that he was busy.

Henry frowned, silently heading to his room. He wanted to ask Edward what was wrong, but figured he wanted to be left alone.

For the next three days Edward still wasn’t speaking. Henry had given Edward some space, but now he was starting to get worried.

That morning, Henry went into the kitchen to fix some coffee and Edward sat at the table, reading again over a plate of eggs. When Edward didn’t acknowledge him, Henry spoke up, “Did something happen with James?”

Edward didn’t respond.

Henry gave an annoyed huff, “Okay Edward, what’s wrong with you? Are you taking a vow of silence or something?”

Edward glanced over at Henry then looked back to his book, “It seems you’ve found time to finally acknowledge me. I’m flattered.”

Henry stared at Edward in confusion, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Edward didn’t say anything. He put his dishes in the sink, grabbed his stuff, and walked out the door. Henry called out to him, but Edward was already gone, slamming the door on his way out.

That evening, the apartment was filled with tension. Neither Henry nor Edward spoke a word. Both shut themselves inside their rooms for the whole night. It was the same the next morning. It was Friday, and Henry didn’t have any classes that day, so he decided to study in the living room while Edward was gone. He was still there when Edward got back, and he felt a sort of petty satisfaction knowing that if Edward wanted to continue avoiding him he’d have to stay in his room.

About an hour later, Henry was startled by a knock at the door. ‘Oh, right. James,’ Henry thought. He got up to answer it and sure enough, James was standing there, dressed in a nice black button up and black jeans. “Hey Henry, is Edward ready to go?”

“Beats me,” Henry said flatly. He walked back to the couch and resumed studying, James following him inside. James could feel the cold energy in the apartment, and he knew something was up. Edward walked out and headed toward the door quickly. “Come on James,” he snapped.

James followed Edward obediently, giving Henry a quick goodbye.

-

“So,” James said as he and Edward stood in line to buy their movie tickets, “Want to tell me what’s happening between you and Henry?”

Edward didn’t answer right away, he thought for a second before he scoffed, “Henry’s decided that I’m chopped liver, that’s what’s happened.”

James cocked his head inquisitively, “He what?”

Edward sighed, “He’s started treating me like dirt, that’s what. He ditched me after class, didn’t keep his promise to meet me that night, and he hasn’t spoken to me for four days.”

“Did you say something to upset him?”

“No,” Edward spat, “I could barely get a word in, he and Gordon were chatting nonstop-” Edward stopped when he saw James giving him a knowing smirk. “What?”

“Gordon, huh?”

“...Yes, why?”

James lazily stuffed his hands in his pockets, “You really haven’t noticed, have you?”

“Just tell me!”

“Henry is head over heels for him.” James snickered, “Has been for a while. We were talking over break about it and he was super freaked out at first, having just left a shitty relationship. But I told him he should go for it.”

Edward was speechless.

James continued, “Henry doesn’t think you’re chopped liver, his mind is just busy thinking about Gordon.”

Edward was stunned. How _hadn’t_ he noticed? Sure, Henry had never really brought up Gordon in any of their conversations, but his behavior had been so obvious. Edward mentally kicked himself. “Well, it still doesn’t excuse what he did. The nerve, ignoring me for days like that.”

“Edward,” James sighed, “Perhaps he thought you wanted to be left alone?”

Damn. James was right. Edward felt very foolish, thinking about Henry in such a negative way. He was just about the sweetest person Edward had ever met.

“If you don’t mind me asking, do you have many other friends besides Henry and I?”

“Bold of you to assume I consider you a friend.”

“Oh ho ho, something _more_ than friends?” James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Edward ignored him. “Well, I have a few classmates I keep in touch with occasionally, but I guess I’d hardly call them friends.”

James gave a low ‘hmph’ in understanding, “I think you’re mad because now you have to make new friends.”

“James!”

“What?!” James stuck his hands up defensively, “I’m just saying that you and Henry can’t only have each other. What did you think would happen after you graduated?”

Edward thought for a minute. James was right, again Edward had indeed thought about what would become of his and Henry’s friendship after graduation, what with Edward likely getting a job that requires him to move a long distance away. He knew he’d make new friends, but the thought of his longtime friendship with Henry coming to an end, or at the very least changing drastically, had torn his heartstrings to shreds. He refused to think about that aspect of his future. Now, he was having to cross that bridge, and he didn’t like it. “Let’s… change the subject.”

James huffed, “This is one long line for movie tickets.”

-

Henry sleepily put down his textbook, finally finished with his work for the week… and the next two weeks. Working ahead wasn’t on his to-do list, but he figured he might as well since he had the extra time. He looked up at the clock and realized that Edward had been gone for almost four hours now. Henry wondered what James had planned for his birthday date…

Henry yawned and leaned back, slumping down lower into the couch. Speaking of dates, he thought, maybe he should consider asking Gordon out on one. But what would they do? Most cliche date ideas didn’t sit well with Henry. He wanted to do something new and exciting, and he figured Gordon would too. Henry began to feel giddy as he imagined how the scenario would go down; maybe they’d go to the ice skating rink the next town over. Henry knew he was pretty good at skating, so he’d get to help Gordon, holding his hands to guide him. Maybe even holding his arms to keep him steady. His big, strong arms…

His thoughts were interrupted by the door swinging open and a disheveled Edward rushing inside. He slammed the door behind him, leaning back against it to catch his breath. Henry said nothing, watching as Edward hyperventilated. Their eyes met, and Edward’s next words dissolved any and all tension between them in one fell swoop.

“I just had sex with James.”


	11. Tender Moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very brief mention of some sensitive topics, but nothing to be worried about.

Henry’s brain was the equivalent of TV static. Edward’s first time speaking to him in days and Henry was already confused. Had he even heard Edward correctly? “...What?” Henry asked quietly.

“I had sex with James. In his car. Right outside. Oh god, people could have seen us from their window. People probably _did_ see us from their window. Oh my g-”

“Edward, hey, slow down,” Henry motioned for Edward to sit beside him on the couch, and Edward hurried over. “Now tell me everyth-”

“Well I’d say the date went pretty well, we talked about plenty of stuff and I didn’t insult him by trying to analyze his childhood trauma, and he offered to drive me back which, of course, I accepted-”

“Breathe, Edward.”

Edward gasped in a breath and continued, “And when he pulled up I jokingly said that I didn’t want to leave and I guess he took it seriously because he just sort of leaned in and told me I didn’t have to and then suddenly we were in the backseat and I don’t even know how he managed to get undressed back there but nevertheless, he did, and-” Edward paused his rambling to breathe again, “We just, did it. Right out there in the parking lot.”

“I…” Henry stammered, “Did you at least park somewhere away from the street lights?”

Edward’s suddenly looked horrified, “Oh god I don’t think we did…”

“Edward what if someone had walked by?”

“The windows fogged up pretty quickly.”

“Dear god…” Henry groaned. He stood up and walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Edward followed, still babbling on.

“I don’t know how to feel about all of this. I spent so long rejecting him because he was so young but apparently I have no problem letting him fuck me in th-”

“Edward, please!”

“Sorry…” Edward said sheepishly, “I was just thinking that if we could have a healthy debate about this I could come to some sort of conclusion about how I feel about everything.”

Henry thought for a moment, “Would I be arguing pro fucking James or against fucking James?”

Edward thought for a second, the look of panic returning to his face, “I don’t know.”

Henry downed the glass of water and returned to the couch, rubbing his temple. Edward once again followed. “Look,” Henry said, “This is a lot for me to take in right now-”

“Oh god,” Edward gasped, “I’m unloading all of this onto you so suddenly, and after I treated you like shit for days. Henry, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking-”

“It’s okay, really,” Henry cut him off, “You needed space, it’s fine-”

“No, that wasn’t really it.” Edward took a deep breath, “I actually talked about this with James, he was surprisingly insightful… I was becoming sort of jealous of all the time you were spending with Gordon. It made me realize that our friendship is going to be very different after graduation. We’re both going to be meeting new people and making new friends… We’ve been so close for so long, but in a few months we may never see each other again. I don’t think I can handle that. I didn’t think I’d be losing you this soon…” Edward swallowed the lump in his throat, looking down at his hands that were folded in his lap.

Henry took a moment to process what Edward had just confessed to him. “Edward,” Henry reached out to touch his arm comfortingly, “you aren’t losing me, and you’re never going to lose me. I don’t care where you go and what you do in the future, I’ll always find a way to drop in and bug you. You’re going to get so tired of me, you’ll wish I moved on to different friends.”

Edward chuckled, “Never.”

Henry smiled, “And I don’t want you to be jealous of Gordon. I… I feel very differently about him than I do about you.”

“James told me.”

“...Little snitch.”

Edward laughed, “I feel very stupid for not noticing it sooner, but why didn’t you tell me?”

Now it was Henry’s turn to swallow a lump in his throat, “I don’t really know. I only told James because we had been talking about… he asked me how I was doing after the whole, you know, the party. I just sort of… dumped everything on him. I told him about how I was struggling coming to terms that I was starting to like Gordon as more than a friend. I told him that all the stuff with Diesel 10 really messed me up; I’ve become so paranoid and jumpy, sometimes being touched by people make me panic… but most importantly, it’s making it difficult for me to deal with these feelings I have for Gordon…” Henry sighed, “I felt very vulnerable, saying all those things out loud to James, and I hated that feeling. And I felt guilty too. I knew I should’ve been having this conversation with you. But I didn’t want to talk about all of that stuff again. I’m glad I’m telling you now though,” Henry laughed stiffly.

Tears ran down Edward’s cheeks, he didn’t bother fighting to hold them back anymore. “God, now I feel even worse for giving you the silent treatment. I’m so sorry Henry. I wish you had told me all of this sooner. I know I probably can’t help you much, but I would’ve at least tried.”

Henry sniffed, “I know.”

Edward pulled Henry into a warm embrace, nestling his head in the crook between Henry’s neck and shoulder. Henry returned the hug, thankful that his fight or flight response to touch had decided to stay quiet.

-

Henry jumped when his phone suddenly vibrated beside him on his nightstand. He reached over and picked it up, his heart leaping when he saw Gordon’s name on the screen. “Hello?”

‘You live in building 1200 right? You’re in 1204?’

Alarm bells started instinctively going off in Henry’s head but he repressed them. “Yes, why?”

‘Meet me outside in about ten minutes.’

Gordon hung up before Henry could reply. Dumbfounded, Henry just stared at the wall, trying to figure out what Gordon could be up to at almost midnight. He quickly texted Gordon ‘Should I change out of my pajamas??’ and almost immediately received a reply of ‘nope.’ Henry was even more confused than before.

Henry wasn’t sure what to bring, so he only had his phone and his wallet stuffed into the pocket of his pajama pants. He wished he had thought to bring a jacket, his worn out oversized T-shirt did nothing to keep him warm. He shivered as he hurried down the stairs to meet Gordon in the parking lot. Sure enough, Gordon was already waiting for him, lazily leaning against the front of his car. He perked up when he saw Henry approaching. “You don’t have anything planned for early tomorrow morning, do you?”

Henry laughed, “No, why? What’s going on?”

Gordon opened the passenger side door and motioned for Henry to get in, “You’ll see when we get there. You’re going to like it, I promise.”

Henry suddenly felt a wave of panic and nausea as memories filled his head, memories of Diesel 10 and his cryptic way of not revealing any plans to Henry until it was too late for Henry to back out. “Uh,” Henry stammered, shivering, “I’d like to know w-where we’re going first. Please.”

Gordon’s face fell, “Oh, fuck, I’m sorry…” He shut the door and walked closer to Henry. “I was hoping to take you out to this clearing just outside of campus where we can look at the stars. You said you haven’t gone stargazing in a while, so I thought…” Gordon trailed off awkwardly.

Henry smiled, walking over to the passenger door, “Oh Gordon, that’s so sweet. How did you remember that?”

Gordon smiled and climbed in the driver’s side door, “You looked so sad when you told me.”

-

The drive there was longer than Henry had anticipated, but he enjoyed the time he and Gordon spent talking. They laughed about the fight between he and Edward, with Henry leaving out the detail about Edward and James’ little escapade…

“Ah, looks like we’re almost there,’ Gordon mused. “It’s just past this old barn.”

Henry glanced out the window; nothing but corn as far as he could see. “So… corn?”

Gordon laughed, “What?”

“Corn. Are we going to have to, I don’t know, chop some of it down?”

Gordon laughed even harder, “No, there’s a clearing up ahead, you just can’t see it yet. But yes, corn. Lots of it.”

Soon Henry could see the barn Gordon had referred to earlier, and past it he saw a distinct patch of land that was devoid of any corn. Gordon parked the car and they both got out, Henry looking up in awe. Stars littered the sky, sparkling like spilled glitter. His attention was drawn back to Gordon when he heard him open the trunk. Henry watched as he pulled out an armful of pillows and blankets. Henry gasped, “Oh Gordon, you didn’t!”

“I did,” Gordon chuckled. “Much more comfortable this way.”

Henry helped him spread the pillows and blankets out on the ground, then the two settled down on top of them. Henry looked up at the sky, mesmerized by the swirl of the celestial bodies above. “It’s funny,” Henry mused, “how humans can enjoy spending time looking at an endless void of nothing just because it looks pretty.”

Gordon hummed in agreement. “Scot and I used to sit outside and look at the stars. He would teach me all of the constellations, but I’ve forgotten most of them by now.” Gordon chuckled, “I never really cared about constellations though, I only ever watched and waited for one thing.”

“What’s that?” Henry asked.

“A shooting star.”

Henry giggled, “Have you ever seen one?”

Gordon huffed, “No, Scot claimed to always see one whenever I wasn’t looking, and I’m still not sure if he was always messing with me or not.”

Henry giggled, “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never seen one either. I always just miss them, apparently.” He turned to look at Gordon, “If I see one tonight I can promise you that I _will_ freak out and celebrate.”

Gordon laughed, “And I can promise you that it’ll happen the one time I blink.”

Henry looked over at Gordon, “So you and Scot are close, huh?”

Gordon’s gaze was fixed on the sky, “Not anymore. We get along just fine, most of the time now, but we used to be a lot closer. When I was young he was the only sort of father figure I had so we really had no choice but to be close. But then we both got older. We started having different interests, and we just sort of… grew apart. I haven’t really felt close to him in a while.”

Henry studied Gordon’s face as he spoke. There wasn’t much light to see, but Henry could see Gordon’s brow furrow. “I’m sorry,” Henry said, “I shouldn’t have brought it up…”

“No, it’s fine, really. It’s not like our relationship is bad, it’s just… not as good as I’d like it to be.” Gordon chuckled, “He used to tell me all the time that I was such a cranky kid. I hated whenever he tried to hug or kiss me. But sometimes I’d come up to him and crawl in his lap, or latch onto his leg, just something so out of the blue it would catch him off guard.” He turned to look at Henry, “I kind of regret that, being such a mean kid.”

“That’s not mean,” Henry laughed, “Kids have their boundaries.”

“Still, I’m sure it hurt him, having your only living brother act like he hates you.”

Henry’s heart sank, “Living?”

Gordon hesitated, “Yeah, I… I found out when I was older that our family was essentially wiped out after Scot and I left. He never told me why.”

Henry stared at Gordon, unsure how to respond. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Gordon huffed, “I never really knew them anyway. I don’t have any memory of anything before coming to Sodor. You can’t miss what you don’t remember.”

“But you _can_ miss what you’ve never had.” Henry mused, looking back up at the stars.

Now it was Gordon’s turn to look at Henry, “Oh? I’m sensing a story behind those words of wisdom, if you’d like to share it.”

Henry giggled, “Yeah, it’s nothing much. Just growing up with a plethora of health issues makes you wish you could live ‘normally’ like all of your friends and family.”

Gordon shifted so he was laying on his side, facing Henry. “What kind of health issues?”

“Well, I had pretty bad Asthma until I was a teenager, as well as frequent vascular headaches.”

“Which are…?”

“Literal hell.”

“Ah, I see,” Gordon hummed, “Continue.”

“Those two things have gotten a bit better over the years. But I still struggle with Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder. Lots of joint pain, lots of muscle weakness… sometimes I physically can’t stand, even if I felt completely fine moments before.”

“That sounds awful…”

Henry sighed, “I’ve gotten better at managing it. Staying active helps. Doing this mentor program through the art department has worked wonders since it’s kept me so busy.”

Gordon propped his head up with his arm, “I never would’ve guessed all of this about you. You’re so strong.”

Henry felt his heartbeat instantly skyrocket upon hearing Gordon’s words. Memories flooded his mind. Painful ones. He felt panic rush through his body, a sudden need to run away taking over him. He quickly sat up, but willed himself not to move from his spot. He trusted Gordon, and he knew reacting like this wasn’t going to do anything but scare him.

“Hey, is everything all right?” Gordon asked calmly. He realized something had triggered Henry to react this way, and it was probably something he said. He felt terrible.

Henry took a deep breath to try and steady himself, “I’m fine, really. I just… I’m used to…”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me, okay?” Gordon wanted to reach out and comfort Henry but he didn’t want to upset him further.

When Henry felt he had calmed down enough, he took a deep breath and laid back down beside Gordon, who watched him intently to make sure he was okay. “I’m sorry,” Henry groaned, “I wish I didn’t do that…”

“There’s nothing you need to apologize for,” Gordon scolded, “I know you’ve been through a lot. If you ever need anything, I’m here for you, okay?”

Henry sat up, propping himself up on his elbows as he turned to look at Gordon, “You’re very sweet.”

Both looked back to the sky in time to see a shooting star leap across the sky directly overhead. They both turned to each other again in shock, only this time Gordon leaned down and kissed Henry.

Henry was caught completely off guard, but the kiss was still welcomed. He could feel his heart doing backflips in his throat as he eagerly returned the kiss. Gordon’s lips felt softer than Henry would’ve guessed, and he smelled faintly of aftershave. Henry was in heaven.

Gordon suddenly pulled back, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even ask-” Henry cut him off to continue the kiss. Gordon gently cradled Henry’s head in one hand, admiring how soft his hair was. He felt Henry wrap one arm around Gordon’s waist, and Gordon deepened the kiss. He hesitantly touched Henry’s lower lip with his tongue, and Henry parted his lips ever so slightly in consent. Sparks danced in Gordon’s mind when Henry’s tongue met his.

Henry sat up slightly and pulled Gordon closer to him, pressing their chests together. He could feel Gordon’s heartbeat, and he suspected Gordon could feel his as well.

They both pulled back slightly, their lips still almost touching. “So,” Gordon whispered, “was that okay?”

“Yes, it was more than okay,” Henry whispered back.


	12. Break In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning- Mild breaking and entering situation, coercion, and physical harassment. Stay safe everyone.

Henry felt as if he was walking on clouds the rest of the night and well into the morning. He didn’t get home until nearly 2 in the morning, and even then he couldn’t calm himself down enough to go to sleep. He replayed that night in his head until he saw the sun coming up.

Thankful it was the weekend, Henry spent all day lazily lounging around in bliss. He felt just as giddy well into the evening, when Edward got home. Henry was too lovestruck to remember where Edward had gone.

Edward smirked when he saw Henry strung out on the couch smiling to himself. “What did I miss?”

Henry shot up, he had completely forgotten to tell Edward everything! “Okay, sit down-”

“Oh no…”

“Oh yes,” Henry laughed. He proceeded to tell Edward about the events of the previous night.

“He what?!” Edward gasped.

“Yes, he kissed me! We saw a shooting star and we just- we kinda- I don’t know, we- it just happened!” Henry stammered.

Edward chuckled, leaning back and staring at the ceiling in thought, “For almost eight years we’ve known each other and nothing has changed.”

Henry stared at Edward quizzically, “What do you mean?”

“Remember when we used to just hang out and gossip about stuff like this? I remember when you gushed about that girl you had a crush on in 9th grade-”

“Shut up.”

“-and how less than 24 hours later you hated her because she called you gay-”

“SHUT UP.”

Edward laughed, “It’s just funny, how some things don’t change, even after years and years go by.”

Henry hummed in thought, “I suppose.”

“Yeah,” Edward sighed. “Well, I better get ready. I’m meeting James downtown. It’s Salsa Night at the bar and he insisted we go.”

“Ooh, fancy,” Henry teased.

Edward rolled his eyes and walked to his room.

-

A few hours later, Henry had the apartment to himself. He was lazily browsing through Netflix when there was a knock at the door. Puzzled, Henry walked over and cracked open the door. “Hello?” His next words froze in his throat when he saw who it was. There in front of him was Diesel 10, who reeked of beer. Henry stood, petrified.

“Henry,” Diesel 10 slurred, “we need to talk.”

“I-I, uh-”

“Please,” Diesel 10 whined.

“No, you n-need to leave,” Henry said shakily.

“Listen, Henry, you gotta let me in. This is, this is important,” Diesel 10 tried to worm his way past the door as Henry held him back. But with a forceful shove he threw Henry off balance, giving him the chance to slip inside and shut the door.

Henry panicked, frantically looking around the room for something he could use as a weapon. The TV remote was just about his only option, to his dismay.

Diesel 10 stumbled toward him and Henry backed away. However, he was soon pressed against a wall with nowhere to go. Henry had to press his hands against Diesel 10’s chest to keep him from coming any closer.

“Please, Henry, baby,” Diesel 10 begged, “You have to drop all these charges against me. Please.” Diesel 10 grabbed Henry around the waist, pleading with him. “Henry, you gotta- you gotta…”

Henry suddenly remembered his phone was in his back pocket. If he could sneak one of his hands down to reach it, he could try calling 911. Slowly, he snaked one of his hands down, but Diesel 10 saw. Henry yelped as Diesel 10 grabbed him by the wrist.

“Hey, Henry-” He slurred, “there’s a party tonight, you should come with me. You’re coming with me. Come on, I-I got a ride waiting outside- My ride is outside. They’re waiting-”

“Okay,” Henry cut him off, “but can I make a quick phone call first? I promised someone I’d call them tonight. Then we can go.” Henry hoped the lie was convincing enough.

Diesel 10 thought hard for a moment, “Sure, sure, quick call, okay.” He stumbled over to the couch and plopped down. He pulled a flash out of his pocket and took a swig.

Henry’s hands shook as he took out his phone and dialed the most recent number. He didn’t care who it was.

“Hello?” They answered.

“Hey,” Henry’s voice cracked, “I promised to call you tonight, remember?”

“...You did?”

“Mm-hm. Listen, I can’t talk for long, _D is here_ and he’s _taking me to a party_ so I have to go,” Henry tried not to sound obvious, in case DIesel 10 grew suspicious.

“...Henry, are you okay?”

“No,” Henry said flatly, “I can’t, _he’s here and he wants me to go with him_.”

Silence. They had hung up.

Henry felt sick. He hoped he had made his message clear.

“Hey, before we go,” Henry said, hoping to stall, “I just need to get changed. I can’t exactly go to a party wearing this,” he gestured to his pajamas.

Diesel 10’s face scrunched up in thought, before he scoffed, “Nah, you look fine. We have to go now. We have to hurry-”

“Can I please change first?”

Diesel 10 stood up and walked towards Henry, who backed away nervously. Diesel 10 reached out and grabbed Henry by the wrist once again and began to drag him towards the door, “Come ooooon, Henry,” he slurred, “we have to go _now_. I want to go to this party, y-you gotta come with me…”

Henry struggled as Diesel 10 started pulling him, leading him to the door. As afraid as he was to fight back, Henry knew he had to. Who knows where Diesel 10 was planning to take him? Henry tried yanking his hand away but Diesel 10 held on tight. Next, Henry planted his feet firmly on the ground and tried pulling back with his whole body, anchoring them both.

“Fuck, come on!” Growing frustrated, Diesel 10 grabbed Henry’s arm with both hands and pulled.

Henry, strong as he was, was still no match for Diesel 10. Henry stumbled as he was dragged out the door. They headed down the hall and Henry started yelling for Diesel to stop, hoping someone would hear him. He saw people coming down the hall towards them and almost cried tears of joy. As they came closer, he saw that it was Gordon, with Edward and James trailing close behind.

Diesel 10 quickly realized who was coming towards them and turned on Henry in rage, “I swear to god if you called them over here I’ll kill you and then I’ll kill your friends and family! I’ll find you all and get every single one of you! You shouldn’t have fucked with me!”

Gordon approached them and attempted to pry Diesel 10’s hand off of Henry’s arm, James assisting. Once Henry was free, he was pulled away by Edward, and they quickly went inside and shut the door. They heard Diesel 10’s muffled shouting through the door, as well as Gordon and James calmly telling Diesel 10 to leave, and that the cops were on their way. There was silence, followed by heavy footsteps that passed by the door and continued down the hall. More footsteps followed, this time stopping at the door before a knock on the door.

Edward cracked the door open and saw that it was only Gordon and James. He let them in, and they all went over to comfort Henry, who sat silently on the couch.

Gordon kneeled down in front of Henry, placing a hand on his knee in comfort, “He’s gone now, okay? The police are on their way and he’s going to be arrested again. You’re safe now.”

Edward chimed in, “And this time he’s going away for good. He broke the No Contact order, which is illegal. He’s going to jail for a long time.”

Henry said nothing, just stared blankly into his lap.

Nobody moved, nobody said a word. James and Edward exchanged worried glances. Gordon watched Henry’s face intently for any sign of emotion, his hand still resting on Henry’s knee.

A minute or two later, Henry suddenly shot up and rushed off to his room.

Gordon started to follow him, but Edward stopped him, “Don’t. I know you’re worried, but I think he wants to be alone. Let’s just leave him.”

Gordon frowned at Edward, “No, he needs someone with him. He shouldn’t be alone right now-”

“Edward’s right,” James cut in, “we should give him space.”

“We can stay in the apartment, but just out here in the living room. He won’t be totally alone.” Edward hoped this would reassure Gordon and make him back down.

Gordon huffed angrily, “Fine. You two can sit here and do nothing. I’m leaving.” And with a sneer he turned and walked out.

-

Henry could see the police pull up from his window. He watched as they handcuffed and wrestled Diesel 10 into the back seat of one of the squad cars. The lights faded as they drove away, leaving Henry staring out the window mournfully.

-

“Hey D…”

“Yes Henry?”

“Why do you like me?”

Diesel 10 thought for a moment, shifting under the covers. “I suppose for a lot of reasons. You’re beautiful, and you’re very special to me.”

Henry smiled, nuzzling against Diesel 10’s chest. Their legs intertwined between the sheets and Henry could feel Diesel 10’s chest rise and fall with each breath. His body was incredibly sore, but being able to snuggle up to Diesel 10 afterwards was worth it.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Henry blinked, unsure if he heard correctly. “What?”

Diesel 10 brought his face close to Henry’s so their noses touched. “I’ve decided I want to be with you forever.”

“...It’s been two months.”

“I know,” Diesel 10 brushed a lock of hair out of Henry’s face, “but I know that you’re wonderful and beautiful and I want to make you mine.”

Henry wanted to bury his face in the pillows to hide the furious blush spreading across his face. “Nobody has ever said anything like that to me before.”

Diesel 10 grinned, “Nobody has seen you like I see you. And no one ever will. It’s like you were made for me.” He cupped Henry’s cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb, “Nobody else will ever love you like I do.”


	13. As Long As You Stand By Me

“This year, going by as fast as it did, is an excellent example of how life seems to work; things that seem so far away are hardly there long, and before you know it the future is the present, and then it is the past. This year was no exception. Every single student graduating today had this moment in their vision as something the future held, and only briefly will we get to enjoy it in the present before it becomes the past, a memory we talk about in years to come. It really puts in perspective all of the moments we tend to take for granted. Our current mundane daily routines will be missed eventually. Even life’s hardest moments are overlooked and rushed, because we want the pain to be over. But even these moments should be taken in and appreciated for what they are; a sign that we’re living, that we have the capacity to feel so much, and of the many greater moments we’ve had to make the hard ones so abysmal in comparison. I ask all of you, going forward, to take a moment, whenever you can, and take in what life has given you, because life will give you a lot. And life is better when you can stop and appreciate everything, the whole nine yards.”

Henry watched as Edward, newly announced valedictorian of the class, stepped off of the stage and returned to his seat. Their eyes met, and Henry gave him a knowing smile.

Soon, the degrees had been handed out and the eager graduates had filed out of the auditorium. Outside, everyone rushed to find their families and friends. Pictures were taken, parents cried, and groups of friends piled into each other’s cars for one last night of fun before heading home.

Henry ran a hand through his hair, hoping to get rid of the muss caused by his cap. He looked around for a familiar face and saw Edward and James. “Hey guys!” Henry called out, squeezing his way through the crowd.

Edward turned around and smiled when he saw Henry, “Well, it took you long enough to get out here!”

James snickered, “I’m guessing he was off snogging Gordon.”

“Was not!” Henry gasped.

Edward and James laughed, “Speaking of which,” James continued, “he was just here looking for you.”

“He told us to tell you to meet him by the big tree over by the parking lot, he wants to talk to you.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks guys!” Henry wondered what Gordon wanted to talk about that was this urgent.

Sure enough, Gordon was standing underneath the tree waiting for him. He smiled when he saw Henry approaching. “I see you’ve already gotten fed up with your cap...”

“I see your hair doesn’t look like a mess with yours still on.” Henry teased.

Gordon’s cheeks flushed pink, “So, five months.”

“...pardon?”

“We’ve been together for five months now. Five and a half, actually.”

“Oh wow,” Henry gasped, “I can’t believe it.”

“Neither can I,” Gordon chuckled, “I imagined you would have grown tired of me sooner.”

Henry laughed, and Gordon shifted around nervously. Henry saw the worried expression on his face, “...is something wrong?”

Gordon avoided looking at Henry, “No, no it’s nothing. I just… I was just wondering if you- I thought we could-” Gordon huffed, “Come live with me.”

Henry tried processing what Gordon had just said.

Gordon continued, “I’ve got a lease on a two bedroom apartment but my roommate cancelled on me about a month ago. I’d like you to take his place.”

Henry stayed silent for a moment, then cleared his throat, “Why… why do you want me to-?”

“Why? Why wouldn’t I?” Gordon sputtered, “I know it’s sudden but if we didn’t do this now we wouldn’t be able to live together for over a year, and I know I don’t want to wait that long. I think we should take this step.”

Henry thought for a moment. “Gordon,” he said softly, “I’m really not sure…”

“Do you want to?”

“...yes.”

“Well,” Gordon mused, “if you really want to then what’s stopping you?”

Henry didn’t answer right away. A lot of things were stopping him but he didn’t want to tell Gordon what those things were. Henry took a deep breath, “Okay, let’s move in together.”

Gordon beamed, scooping Henry up in a strong hug. Henry laughed and pressed a kiss to Gordon’s forehead. “Come on, let’s go find Edward and James.”

-

“So, what are your plans?” James stuffed his hands in his pockets nonchalantly.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Edward shrugged, “I still have to finish packing some of my stuff and-”

“I meant big plans, Edward,” James rolled his eyes, “What are you doing now that you’ve graduated?”

“Oh, I’ve scheduled a couple of job interviews over the next week or so. Hopefully I’ll have a job by the end of the month.”

James nodded, “Hm. Where?”

Edward grew quiet. “Most of them are… a couple hours away. Four hours minimum.”

James’ face fell. He knew there was a reason Edward had avoided discussing his plan for the future, and he had guessed distance was the main factor. “I see,” James tried not to sound too disappointed, “So, I guess this means we-”

“But I’ve applied for a job that’s here in town, too. I don’t have an interview yet, but I’m hopeful.” Edward’s face flushed a slight red, “You know how much I like you, James. I couldn’t bring myself to eliminated all of my options here.”

James smiled shyly, “You’re serious?”

“Very,” Edward nodded, “even though it’ll be a bit more difficult, I’ll still be able to find a job that’s close.”

James pulled Edward close and gave him a long, grateful kiss.

-

Henry flopped down on his bed, exhausted from unpacking. He had finally gone through all of his boxes and settled everything into his room. He heard Gordon muttering angrily to himself in the next room, still going through his own belongings. Gordon packed light, but his organizational skills were… lacking. Henry smiled as he stood in the doorway, watching Gordon as he struggled to rip the tape off of a particularly stubborn box.

Gordon saw Henry watching and flushed in embarrassment, “I assume you’re already finished?”

“Uh-huh,” Henry snickered.

Gordon grunted in acknowledgement and stabbed the aforementioned box with scissors.

Henry walked over and wrapped his arms around Gordon’s waist from behind, resting his chin on Gordon’s shoulder. “I assume you need my help?”

Gordon opened his mouth to answer but stopped when he heard familiar voices in the hallway outside. Henry heard them too, rushing over to the door. A couple doors down the hallway stood a very disgruntled James, who was struggling to carry the very large boxes Edward was currently thrusting his way.

James laughed nervously when he saw Henry and Gordon watching him, “Hey Edward? I don’t think it’s a surprise anymore.”

“James, what in the world are you talking ab-” Edward stopped short when he looked up and saw Henry and Gordon. “Damn it!”

“What?” Henry laughed.

“You weren’t supposed to know where I live yet,” Edward sighed in defeat. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Gordon huffed, “Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised.”

The four laughed a decided to take some time to catch up after everyone finished unpacking for the day. They definitely had plenty to talk about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed the story. This was very... interesting for me to write, for many reasons. One being that I've never really dedicated myself to a story like this, most of what I write tends to be very short. Additionally, writing some of the plot of this story was difficult for me, since Henry's experiences were loosely based off of some of mine. Almost two years ago, I met someone who appeared to be perfect, but I quickly found out he was anything but. Some details have been exaggerated for the plot, while some have been left out completely, but nevertheless, Henry's story is very similar to my own.
> 
> While attending therapy, I was encouraged to journal my thoughts and feelings. I brushed it off at first, but when I noticed my experiences bleeding into some of my writing, I figured I'd give it a shot. It wasn't always easy, but it felt strangely nice to be able to vent through writing this story (it was also pretty satisfying to make Henry do some of the things I wish I had done).
> 
> Anyways, I feel very attached to this story because of how personal it is, and I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm currently writing the outline to the sequel, which will be much more lighthearted as of right now. I'm open to suggestions, so just comment below anything you wish to see in the sequel and I'll take it into consideration. Proper credit will be given.
> 
> Thanks again, take care everybody!


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